CUBS Odds: Schedule, Matchups, & Stats

Previous Matchup

October 1, 2023

Cubs Smyly

0

Brewers Houser

4

Betting on the Chicago Cubs

Less than a decade removed from ending the longest title drought in major professional sports history, the Cubs remain a popular ticket.  

Chicago Cubs Franchise History

The Chicago Cubs joined the National League of Professional Baseball— now Major League Baseball – as the Chicago White Stockings in 1876, just 11 years after the conclusion of the Civil War…what? Yes, baseball is old.

After changing their name to the Chicago Cubs, the team nabbed back-to-back World Series titles in 1907 and ’08. Sadly, you probably know what happens next. The Cubs wouldn’t win another World Series until 2016, when they defeated the Cleveland Indians in seven games.

Between 1908 and 2016, the Cubs made the playoffs just 14 times. That poor fanbase saw their beloved Cubbies in the postseason just once every 7.7 years on average. In fact, there are only two known people who were alive for the Cubs’ 1909 and 2016 championships.

Anyway, the Cubs did still have a few good seasons and a bunch of good players in between titles, particularly in the ‘90s and 2000s.

In 1998, Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa famously went toe-to-toe with Cardinals star Mark McGwire for the home run crown. McGwire won the battle with 70 homers to Sosa’s 66, but Sosa won the war as he brought home the MVP trophy that season.

After a few quick playoff exits in the 2000s, the Cubs floundered again until they reached the NLCS in 2015 following 97 regular season wins. The next season, the star-studded Cubs captured that elusive championship behind Anthony Rizzo and MVP Kris Bryant.

Betting on the Chicago Cubs in Illinois

Both online and retail sports betting are live and legal in the Prairie State. Initially, bettors were mandated to sign up for online betting accounts at an in-person sportsbook. As of March 5, 2022 bettors can sign up from anywhere.

Plenty of online sportsbook giants have launched their products in Illinois since online betting went live in the middle of 2020, including DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, and more.

One caveat of the Illinois market is that bettors cannot wager on in-state college teams unless they do so at a retail sportsbook. In-state teams were originally off limits altogether, but that ban was partially lifted in December 2021.

Bettors can expect to see something like the following when placing a wager on their hometown Cubbies:

-          St. Louis Cardinals -160

-          Chicago Cubs +140

In this example, the Cubs are taking on their rival, the Cardinals, and they are +140 underdogs on the moneyline.

Betting on a -160 favorite requires a bettor to wager $160 in order to make a $100 profit on their bet. Inversely, betting on a +140 underdog would require a bettor to wager $100 in order to make a $140 profit.

Chicago Cubs Sportsbook Partnerships

The Cubs agreed to a partnership with sportsbook titan DraftKings in 2020.

In 2021, the franchise received approval to build a DraftKings Sportsbook in the old Captain Morgan Club in the right-field corner of Wrigley. Construction is expected to begin in 2022.

Within the sportsbook, fans will have access to betting kiosks, lounge-style seating in front of huge televisions, and of course, ballpark food.