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- Safeguards to cap wagers on pitch-level markets at US$200 and exclude those bets from parlays
- MLB says measures will be implemented across sportsbook operators that represent more than 98% of US betting market
Major League Baseball (MLB) has introduced new measures with its US sportsbook partners capping wagers on individual pitches at US$200 and excluding those bets from parlays.
The league said the safeguards will be implemented across sportsbook operators that represent more than 98 per cent of the US betting market and “are intended to mitigate integrity risks and maintain the transparency and data access benefits that the regulated sports betting market provides”.
The agreement includes betting firms Bally’s, Bet365, BetMGM, Bet99, Betr, Caesars, Circa, DraftKings, 888, FanDuel, Gamewise, Hard Rock, Intralot, Jack Entertainment, Mojo, Northstar Gaming, Oaklawn, Penn, Pointsbet, Potawatomi, Rush Steet, and Underdog.
The move follows Cleveland Guardians players Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz being indicted earlier this month over an alleged scheme to rig pitches during games.
Prior to MLB’s new measures, bettors on the league have been able to gamble on whether individual pitches will be balls or strikes. Prosecutors allege claim that Ortiz was paid US$5,000 for throwing an intentional ball during a game on 15th June. Clase is alleged to have been given US$5,000 for facilitating the rigged pitch, alongside gamblers in the players’ home country of the Dominican Republic.
Prosecutors claim the pair did so again in a game on 27th June, receiving US$7,000 each.
Clase and Ortiz face up to 65 years in prison if found guilty of the allegations, which include charges of fraud, conspiracy and bribery. Lawyers for the pair have said their clients are innocent.
MLB’s measures are designed to limit pitch-level betting markets, such as bets on balls versus strikes or pitch velocity. These present heightened integrity risks because they focus on specific, one-off events that can be determined by a single player and may have little impact on the outcome of the game.
Implementing a strict bet limit on such bets, along with banning parlays on them, reduces the payout for these markets and the risk of circumventing the new limit.
“Since the Supreme Court decision opened the door to legalised sports betting, Major League Baseball has continuously worked with industry and regulatory stakeholders across the country to uphold our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans,” said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.
“I commend Ohio Governor [Mike] DeWine for his leadership on this issue over the last several months. I also commend the industry for working with us to take action on a national solution to address the risks posed by these pitch-level markets, which are particularly vulnerable to integrity concerns. We look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders, including licensed sports betting operators, elected officials and regulators, to ensure we are always protecting the integrity of our game.”
MLB is not the only US league to limit certain types of bets deemed most at risk of manipulation. In 2024, the National Basketball Association (NBA) asked its sportsbook partners to stop allowing wagers on the under for prop bets involving players on two-way contracts, after former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was found to have manipulated his performance in two games while on a two-way contract.
In August, the NBA and its players’ union (the NBPA) announced their support for further limitations on prop bets, which are ‘micro wagers’ that focus on a specific event or individual performance within a game that does not necessarily depend on the final outcome or final score.
Porter is one of three NBA players, along with Terry Rozier and Malik Beasley, to have been investigated as part of a federal gambling inquiry. Neither Rozier nor Beasley have been charged with a crime.
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