As of today’s date, Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball, and the National Basketball Association have resumed play, intent on completing their 2020 seasons.
Professional soccer returned in the USA last week with the MLS Is Back Tournament which has now reached the quarterfinal round of eight without any major hiccups or setbacks.
The MLS has followed intense protocols, and has restricted fans from attending the tournament games which are all occurring at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
By quarantining the teams, players, and staffs in one location, the MLS has been able to contain the spread of COVID-19 and prevent potentially infected individuals from accessing their operations.
The MLS has provided strong testing protocols that have served to protect players, as well as allowing for solid lines for betting on soccer.
Major League Baseball decided to take the risk of having teams travel to opposing facilities to compete in games without fans. While this may be a nice reprieve to fans of baseball betting, the Miami Marlins have already come down with sixteen cases of Coronavirus infections.
Games are already being canceled and rescheduled, but so far, there have not been any infections discovered on any other MLB teams. Even the Marlins are scheduled to return to action no later than August 3, after filling their rosters with minor league players.
MLB is intent on carrying on, no matter what, and delivering a full playoff bracket in September and October, even if it means that the players are mostly unidentifiable scrubs by that time.
The National Basketball Association has adopted a model similar to MLS, and will restart their season without fans at the Disney Sports Complex in Orlando.
The NBA is taking it a step further than the MLS, and has vowed to complete their entire season and playoffs in central Florida, eliminating as much potential for COVID-19 infection as possible.
They are referring to it as the “NBA bubble,” and so far, it has not burst. The league is still reporting zero cases of Coronavirus infection on the day that the season is set to begin again.
Although Major League Baseball may be in a bit of trouble, overall, the world of sports betting is in pretty good shape. Adding to the MLB, MLS, and NBA odds are routine televised NASCAR races.
Betting on the UFC has also kept sportsbooks active, as the massive MMA promotion has inspired frequent betting lines for their fight cards that occur routinely on ESPN or Pay-Per-View.
The PGA Tour is in full swing as well, with tournaments occurring often that allow for betting on golf and watching the proceedings on television.
The NFL appears to be on track to start on time in early September, although fan attendance is likely to be reduced or eliminated altogether for the 2020 season.
The National Football League has the benefit of observing how the NBA, MLS, and MLB handle the restart of their respective leagues during this pandemic.
Perhaps the NFL will decide to adopt a single location option if the MLB experiences further difficulties in controlling the spread of the virus.