Sports Betting Update: MLS and F1 return to action

Despite positive COVID-19 tests to a small percentage of their athletes, more North American sports leagues are approaching a return to play, after they paused or delayed seasons because of the pandemic.  

The plan is for Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association to resume play toward the end of this month — without fans in attendance — while Major League Soccer will resume its season Wednesday with the "MLS is Back Tournament" in Orlando, Fla. 

Here is an updated list of the latest sports and leagues available to wager on at BetAmerica.

Major League Soccer

After it suspended its season in March, MLS will return with a World Cup-style tournament that begins Wednesday, with Orlando City facing Inter Miami. All scheduled matches for the group stage of the tournament have a full menu of markets to wager on at BetAmerica. 

The tournament runs from July 8 to Aug. 11, beginning with the group stage. The tournament will progress from the group stage to the knockout round, followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. 

Points from group-stage matches all count toward the regular-season standings. The winner of the tournament will qualify for next year’s CONCACAF Champions League. 

The regular season will resume once the tournament is over, however, a schedule for the remainder of the season has yet to be determined. 

The tournament continues Thursday with a pair of group-stage matches. New York City FC is favored to win against the Philadelphia Union, and the Montreal Impact is an underdog against the New England Revolution. 

UFC 251

The first event on UFC Fight Island will take place this weekend. It features a main-event bout between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal for the welterweight title. 

The fight was originally supposed to be a title fight between Usman and Gilbert Burns, however, the latter was forced out after he tested positive for COVID-19. 

Despite the logistical challenges of being the first major North American-based sports league to resume events during the pandemic, and the positive tests from fighters or other team members, the UFC has pressed on to provide fights for fans and bettors eager for live sports.

The anticipation for Fight Island has been building for weeks. The wind appeared to be taken out of its sails when Burns tested positive last week, but work was done quickly to re-secure the main event, and Masvidal stepping up for the opportunity. 

Fighting on short notice, Masvidal is a sizable underdog to win Saturday’s bout.

PGA Tour

The PGA Tour resumed play last month, and the schedule continues with the Workday Charity Open this week at Muirfield in Dublin, Ohio. Justin Thomas enters the tournament as the favorite with odds of +1000 to win. 

Markets available at BetAmerica include the outright market, live betting, and a variety of props and head-to-head matchups for all four rounds. 

The PGA Tour will remain at Muirfield Golf Club for the Memorial Tournament next week. The Memorial was originally scheduled for early June, but the pandemic forced it to be postponed almost six weeks. 

The Open Championship — what would’ve been the final major of the year — was originally scheduled to take place next weekend, however, it was cancelled because of the pandemic. 

Formula One

Formula One racing has resumed its 2020 season, following NASCAR and IndyCar as major motor sports to hit the track after a pause. 

Valtteri Bottas won last weekend’s race in Austria, where he bested Charles Leclerc by 2.7 seconds. The second race of the season is scheduled for Sunday. Lewis Hamilton is favored to win the Styrian Grand Prix in Austria. 

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