What Is MLC?
To start your MLC betting adventure, you must understand the MLC and how it works. Major League Cricket, or MLC for short, is the first professional T20 league in the US. It’s related to the Minor League Cricket, MLC’s development league, and after its successful 2021 season, it was clear that the US public wanted more.
The governing cricket body in the country, USA Cricket, approved the creation of a new league and partnered with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) in May 2019. ACE already partners with several Indian companies and business people who lead the top teams in the Indian Premier.
It was eventually decided that the Major Cricket League would feature franchises led by these entities.
The inaugural season will feature six teams, including the Los Angeles Knight Riders, MI New York, San Francisco Unicorns, Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings, and Washington Freedom. You’ll soon start seeing these names in various betting sites in India, especially from 13 July, the starting date of the competition.
The draft for the inaugural season was held on 19 March, and with subsequent signings, the league is set to feature many superstars, including Quinton de Kock (Seattle), Aaron Finch (San Francisco), Adam Zampa (Los Angeles), Anrich Nortje (Washington DC), Jason Roy (Los Angeles), Wanindu Hasaranga (Washington DC), Faf du Plessis (Texas), and Mitchell Marsh (Seattle).
Each team had a starting salary cap of ₹9.44 crore ($1.15 million), with most of the money going to overseas players. Every squad can have 16–19 players, of which nine can be foreign. One player must be an under-23 domestic rookie.
Moreover, like most T20 cricket leagues, the MLC is looking to expand to eight teams shortly.
What Are the MLC Rules?
The inaugural season will have 19 matches, 15 in the league stage and 4 in the playoffs. The format effectively mimics the IPL (before it expanded), with a league stage played in a simple round-robin system where each team plays every other once, effectively resulting in 5 matches for each.
The top two teams will advance to the Qualifier match, and the third and fourth will play in the Eliminator match. The Qualifier winner will advance to the finals, while the loser will battle the Eliminator winner in the Challenger match. The winner of this one will go on to the finals.
If you’re ready to join the MLC betting online world, remember that the competition will follow the standard T20 format, so expect fast-paced action and plenty of live betting opportunities.
Matches will be played at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, home of the Texas Super Kings, and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina. All playoff matches will be held at the former, and the other five teams plan to have their home stadiums in the next few years.
Major Cricket League (MLC) Teams
The first six Major Cricket League teams are already known, so let’s cover each one and what you need to know about them:
Los Angeles Knight Riders
The Los Angeles Knight Riders are owned by the Knight Riders Group, making the franchise’s counterpart in the IPL the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The team was established in 2020 and is set to have a home ground at the Great Park in Irvine, California, by 2024.
In the domestic draft, the team first picked Houston Hurricanes’ Ali Khan, while some other notable names included Corné Dry, Saif Badar, and Unmukt Chand. Later on, the Knight Riders acquired Jason Roy, Adam Zampa, Andre Russell, and Lockie Ferguson.
MI New York
The MI New York was established in 2023 and is set to have a stadium at the Marine Park in Brooklyn, New York.
Like most other MLC teams, they are owned by a famous Indian club, in this case, the Mumbai Indians, who have won the IPL five times.
At the domestic draft, they first picked Steven Taylor, and later, they acquired some notable international names, including Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, Kieron Pollard, and Kagiso Rabada.
San Francisco Unicorns
The San Francisco Unicorns launched in March 2023 under the ownership of Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan. Their high-performance partner is Cricket Victoria.
The franchise aims to build a 15,000-capacity stadium at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, close to San Francisco.
They’ve signed Aaron Finch as the captain while getting heavy-hitter names like Corey Anderson, Smit Patel, Liam Plunkett, and Tajinder Singh.
Seattle Orcas
The GMR Group, the co-owner of the Delhi Capitals, owns the Seattle Orcas. Their minor league affiliate is the 2022 MLC champions, the Seattle Thunderbolts.
The team aims to have a stadium at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington, by 2025.
Their first draft pick was Harmeet Singh, the captain of the Seattle Thunderbolts. IPL betting fans will also want to know that they have signed notable names like Mitchell Marsh, Quinton de Kock, Wayne Parnell, Sikandar Raza, and Dasun Shanaka.
Texas Super Kings
The Texas Super Kings will have home-field advantage in the inaugural season as they are based at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, where most games will be played.
Among the franchise's owners are the Chennai Super Kings, one of the most successful IPL teams, and the Dallas Mustangs are their MiLC affiliate.
The Texas Super Kings got Faf du Plessis as their captain, and their first draft pick was Rusty Theron. Moreover, they signed Dwayne Bravo, Devon Conway, and Ambati Rayudu.
Washington Freedom
The Washington Freedom have Cricket New South Wales as a high-performance partner and are owned by Sanjay Govil, an American Indian entrepreneur.
They plan to have their home ground at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, so they will be reasonably close to their hometown of Washington, D.C.
Their first draft pick was Andries Gous, while they also picked Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, and Glenn Phillips.
MLC Predictions and Tips
As we do for every other major tournament, we’ve asked various cricket specialists for their tips and predictions. You can view the latest ones in the table below, where we’ll constantly update the information to reflect the latest changes and upcoming matches you can bet on.
Besides our predictions and tips, you also need to consider some more general MLC betting tips.
You must closely follow the cricket world, primarily for the names appearing in the MLC. As it’s a new league, most predictions will rely heavily on the players the teams acquired. Look for more notable names and how they played in the past, especially if they played together.
Besides superstars, pay attention to the younger domestic cricketers and how they played in the Minor League Cricket, as many players will appear in MLC. Moreover, every team must have at least one cricketer from the MiLC within their ranks, and they will be looking to prove themselves.
Other than that, review the odds carefully and look for exciting opportunities. You won’t be able to rely much on past matches, so you’ll have to trust the odds and your knowledge and experience with betting on cricket.
MLC FAQ
What is the MLC?
Major League Cricket (MLC) is the upcoming T20 league in the US. It’s the first-ever professional T20 league and the most ambitious cricket tournament in the country, organised by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE). ACE owns all teams in the league, but they have partners in the form of major cricket franchise owners that also lead some of the Indian Premier League teams.
When does the MLC 2023 season start?
The inaugural Major Cricket League season will begin on Thursday, 13 July 2023. The opening game is between the Texas Super Kings and the Los Angeles Knight Riders. There will be one or two matches almost every day until 25 July, when we’ll see the last game in the league stage. The playoffs begin two days later, with the finals scheduled for 30 July.
Where are the MLC betting odds?
You can find competitive MLC betting odds on various markets within the sportsbooks recommended here. Most are released a few days before the start of the matches.
Is there a list of the best betting sites for the MLC?
Yes, of course. It’s right here on this page. We’ve done an extensive research to find the best MLC betting sites, as we do for every competition or sport, so you’re free to choose the one that fits your needs most.
Is betting on the MLC online legal in India?
Online betting is in legal limbo in India as there are no specific laws on the federal level nor in most states. Some, however, do have gambling laws, so check the situation in your state before you begin. For the rest, it’s generally assumed that placing bets on regulated and reputable betting sites like the ones we recommend is legal.
Where can I bet on the MLC?
You can wager on the US Major Cricket League on any reputable Indian betting site on our list. We’ve made sure to pick the best gambling apps on the market. They all feature competitive odds, high betting market diversity, complete MLC coverage, a wide range of bonuses and promotions, and much more.
How do I bet on the MLC?
You can wager on the upcoming MLC season as on any other cricket league. Pick a betting site from our list, create an account, make a deposit, claim the welcome package, find the league in the cricket betting section, make your choice and place a bet. Remember that the odds will be released close to the league’s start date.
