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Hello, Ontario! DraftKings Sportsbook and Casino is now live!
If you’re anything like me, a sports-obsessed person who happens to be living in the greatest province on Earth, this is a happy day. You’ll now be able to wager on all your favourite teams from the comfort of your own home. You’ll also be able to wager against your least-favourite teams — Senators fans who have been Lightning fans the past two weeks know exactly what I’m talking about.
With all the excitement, let me highlight a few Ontario-based bets you might be interested in.
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
To Win World Series
Blue Jays (+900)
We all probably felt better about the chances of a Toronto World Series run before a terrible stretch of results to begin the month of May, but the Jays are still loaded with young talent and it’s not too difficult to be optimistic — particularly with the newly expanded playoff format. One very strong reason to feel hopeful is sheer amount of bad luck Toronto’s underwhelming offence has fought through so far this season.
Coming into play on May 17, the Jays are actually about as league-average as possible inside the batter’s box, sitting with a 99 wRC+. However, that figure drops to a league-worst 61 wRC+ with runners in scoring position, thanks primarily to an entirely unstable .220 BABIP within the split. In case you’re wondering, that’s also a league-worst mark. As snakebitten as Toronto might feel sometimes, I’m here to assure you that won’t continue. It can’t. Not for a squad that also ranks second in hard hit rate (44.2%) and 10th in expected wOBA on batted ball events (.400).
The bats will eventually get hot — maybe coinciding with the opening of the Dome — and the Jays can then ride the golden right arms of Kevin Gausman and Alek Manoah through the dog days of summer.
DraftKings Casino is also here in Ontario. Download the Casino app!
To Win NBA Championship
Raptors (+5000)
We’ve yet to decide this season’s NBA Champion, yet DraftKings Sportsbook already has you covered for 2022-23. For those of us not super interested in watching the Celtics potentially take down Kyle Lowry and the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, this is a massive blessing.
There’s a lot to like about the Raptors, on the heels of a 48-win campaign that was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Pascal Siakam looked reborn, back to the energetic and engaging player he had been prior to the Bubble. Siakam even managed to put up better statistics at a higher efficiency than he did in his lone All-NBA season in 2019-20. Fred VanVleet became the league’s first undrafted All-Star in nearly two decades, OG Anunoby’s scoring and creation profile expanded and Precious Achiuwa learned what bagged milk was. Truly a memorable year all around.
Of course, I’m burying the lede here. It was Scottie Barnes that captivated the city of Toronto. It was Scottie Barnes that proved scouts wrong with his strength and ability to score in a multitude of ways. It was Scottie Barnes that walked away with Rookie of the Year honours in an absolutely stacked freshman class. If you have even the smallest amount of faith that the Raptors can win the title next season, it’s because you believe in Scottie Barnes.
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