With the Blue Jays set to begin the American League Division Series this afternoon against the Yankees, Phill Gray, the Head of Trading Operations at Sports Interaction, is certain that Canadian bettors support their teams unlike any other.

Big Jays Liability

“There’s going to be a lot of Ontario books sweating a huge Jays liability right now,” he told Casino.org. Gray said he remembers the Raptors run to an NBA championship in 2019, and how that wiped out their book’s entire basketball profit for the season.

MLB losses may reach "mid 7 figures" for a book, according to Gray.

This afternoon at 4:08 p.m. EST, Kevin Gausman will start for the Blue Jays against Luis Gill of the Yankees in Game 1.

Jays Opened at +2000

“Canadian facing books face a steep challenge all season for NHL/NBA/MLB,” Gray said. “Leafs and Oilers/Raptors/Jays. The home betting public overwhelmingly back these teams’ night in and night out as well as in futures, doesn’t matter the pricing. So, it becomes a feast or famine for the most part in profit/loss.

“The Blue Jays consistent winning regular season hits hard on a game-by-game basis. Futures now come into play. With 94 wins the Jays went well over their opening projected total of 79.5, a big loss as the over was heavily backed. They opened at varying prices around +900 to take the AL East, again would have been a larger liability on them from the get-go and the payout at that price is substantial.”

Against the Phillies, Ohtani starts

For the pennant, Toronto opened at about +2000, and for the World Series, it doubled that amount.  According to Gray, they will account for easily 75% of the action in these markets.  In addition to riding their game weaknesses throughout the season, a Jays outcome for these bookies in Ontario would be a massive loss.

“I sat through the same scenario with the Raptors in 2019. It’s easily potential mid 7-figure loss for a book this October as it was for us that spring with the Raptors,” he said.

Possible Loss of Seven Figures

On the divisional series front, it is a busy day.  The Dodgers (Shohei Ohtani) play the Phillies (Cristopher Sanchez) at 6:38 p.m. EST, the Tigers (Troy Melton) play the Mariners (George Kirby) in Seattle at 8:38 p.m. EST, and the Cubs (Matthew Boyd) play the Brewers (Freddy Peralta) at 2:08 p.m. EST.

“There is some good two-way money on the series,” said Eric Biggio, Lead Baseball Trader at Caesars Sportsbook. “We opened a little higher on the series price than I had initially thought, with the Yankees at -150. Bo Bichette’s day-to-day status, combined with the Yankees’ winning their last two elimination games versus the Red Sox, both factored in pushing the Yankees out as a bigger favorite.

“I personally think the Jays are live in the series, especially if they take advantage of home field with Kevin Gausman in Game 1 and Shane Bieber in Game 2.”

Big Money for the World Series with the Dodgers

It should come as no surprise that money has been placed on the Dodgers to win both the series and the World Series.

“I’m sure we’ll wind up needing the Phillies in most games, as the Dodgers have been a public betting favorite most of the year,” said Biggio. “Christopher Sanchez has been underrated all year for the Phillies. If they hold serve with him in Game 1, I think they’ll pull off the small upset in the series.”

Out of the four Division Series games, the Mariners are the biggest series favorite at -180.

Recency Bias on Cubs

“On paper, they’ve got the better lineup and better pitching depth. So they are a deserved favorite in this matchup,” said Biggio. “We’ll probably need the Tigers in any game not started by Tarik Skubal in this series. 

“Not enough respect for the Brewers here? The No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs is only a -125 series favorite? There may be some recency bias on the Cubs, not sure. But I’ll be interested to see the way the bets come in on this one.”

The Jays are a little underdog at NorthStar in Canada, at -129, while the Yankees are at +110.  The Phillies at -122 and the Dodgers at +105, the Mariners at -225 and the Tigers at +185, and the Brewers at -165 and the Cubs at +140 are the underdogs.

The Yankees are +105 and the Jays are -125 at BetMGM this morning; the Cubs are +135 and the Brewers are -161; the Dodgers are +105 and the Phillies are -125; and the Tigers are +180 and the Mariners are -222.