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MILWAUKEE (Gambling911.com) - Young ace Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, rookie Cooper Pratt had two more hits and two RBIs, and Milwaukee beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night to set off a long-awaited celebration among thousands of Brewers fans in attendance at Tropicana Field.
The Milwaukee Brewers, playing in the smallest market in the majors, are World Series champions for the first time.
“It’s the best feeling ever. All of our fans are here. I know the city’s waited a long, long time for this,” said captain Christian Yelich, who got hugs from franchise icon Robin Yount on the field when it was over. “We’re so happy to bring it home to them.”
Now onto the viewership and betting numbers. We should point out that the Brewers opponent, the Tampa Bay Rays, also play in one of the smallest markets in Major League Baseball.
BetOnline actually offered a prop bet on the Average US Viewership for the World Series (according to Nielsen)
Over/Under 8.5 million
Note: The lowest number (9.1 million) was in 2023 where the Rangers beat the Diamondbacks.
Note: The last time the Brewers were in the World Series (1982), the number was 38.1 million.
We are thrilled to report that this one appeared to go way over the total.
As of October 29, the most interesting development is that Tuesday's Game 4 attracted approximately 13.5 million viewers, while Monday's Game 3 suffered one of the weakest audiences in World Series history.
But that weak number was a tick under the BetOnline World Series average viewership total betting market, coming in at 8.33 million.
Game 1 attracted 12.26M, Game 2 $10.85M and Game 4 preliminary numbers suggest viewership may have hit over $13M. Game 5 we can only imagine likely blew away all other nights, though the numbers are not in just yet.
The first two games were down only about 7–8% from the corresponding 2025 Dodgers–Blue Jays games, while substantially outperforming the 2023 Rangers–Diamondbacks series. Game 3's blowout and competition from Monday Night Football contributed to its sharp audience decline.
In Milwaukee, the local Fox television share reached 70% for Game 1 and 71% for Game 2 — meaning roughly seven in ten televisions in use were tuned to the game.
Betting handle numbers were not readily available as of yet but Milwaukee bookies most likely got hammered whereas Florida bookies made out like bandits.
BetMGM reported that 91% of series-winner handle backed Milwaukee before Game 1 while FanDuel had 70% of series-winner money backed Milwaukee.
Hard Rock Bet, on the other hand, reported that 21.2% of Florida World Series futures tickets backed Tampa Bay, versus 7.7% in other states.
Gamblers who had future bets on the Brewers to win the World Series made out like bandits. Milwaukee paid out $3500 for every $100 bet to do so.
Politics
Biggest Polling Developments vs. Odds
Texas Senate - Talarico 51%, Paxton 43% An 8-point Democratic lead in a YouGov Blue poll, wider than several other recent surveys. For past poll comparisons, more recently, Beto O'Rourke came close to winning the Texas Senate as a Democrat and failed to do so, however, he never once led in any polls. Talarico was now the -200 favorite to win at BetOnline.
Michigan Senate - El-Sayed 51%, Rogers 44% CBS News/Mitchell finds a 7-point Democratic advantage, versus just 1 point in an InsiderAdvantage poll. El-Sayed looked like one of the more vulnerable candidates just weeks ago but was currently listed at -250 odds with Election Day fast approaching on Tuesday.
With the addition of early in-person votes, nearly 11.6% of the state's active registered voters have already voted, but those numbers only tell part of the story.
"We're running ahead of where we were in 2022, which is the most comparable cycle. I think what we're seeing, we're about 17% ahead in terms of where that vote was in 2022," said Peter Trumbore, Political Science Professor, Oakland University.
The next test starts Saturday when in-person early voting opens statewide.
South Carolina Senate Graham 48%, Andrews 48% A New York Times/Siena poll shows a dead heat in a traditionally Republican state. This one has everyone scratching their heads and the odds are improving for Annie Andrews (+213). BetOnline still has Darline Graham pulling this one off at -250 odds.
Wisconsin Governor Crowley 53%, Tiffany 46% Marquette finds a 7-point Democratic lead, while another recent survey shows a much closer race.
Ohio Governor Acton 48%, Ramaswamy 44% Suffolk puts Acton ahead by 4 points, despite indications of tightening in other polling averages. BetOnline has Amy Acton as the "lock" at -500 odds.
Iowa Senate Hinson 47%, Turek 45% InsiderAdvantage shows a narrow Republican lead in a competitive contest.
Ashley Hinson (R) is priced at -145 and Josh Turek (D) pays out $115 for every $100 bet.
Breeders Cup
Breeders Cup Odds Thursday Morning
Forever Young 2-1 +200 $200
Sovereignty 5-2 +250 $250
Knightsbridge 9-2 +450 $450
Golden Tempo 5-1 +500 $500
Magnitude 6-1 +600 $600
The Puma 10-1 +1000 $1,000
Napoleon Solo 15-1 +1500 $1,500
T O Password 30-1 +3000 $3,000
Prediction Markets
Michigan Forces Another Prediction Market Operator to Halt Sports Contracts
Polymarket is reportedly the fourth operator to stop offering sports contracts in Michigan. Meanwhile, the CFTC has sued Utah in a separate dispute over state enforcement of gambling laws against federally regulated prediction markets.
NFL Betting Rules Reportedly Force Saquon Barkley to Divest Polymarket Stake
A potentially significant intersection of professional sports, player investments and prediction markets. Worth covering because it raises questions about how athletes can participate financially in trading platforms.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
