MLB, Sportsbooks Agree to $200 Cap on Single-Pitch Bets After Guardians Scandal

^{Emmanuel Clase reacts to a win against the San Francisco Giants. His indictment contributed to MLB’s new limits on microbetting. (Photo: Aaron Josefczyk/UPI via Alamy Live News)}

Major League Baseball announced Monday that it has reached an agreement with its sportsbook partners to set a $200 limit on all micro-bets that are resolved on the result of a single pitch.

MLB says the rules were adopted by operators representing more than 98% of US regulated market share and they will prevent these bets from being included in parlays.

Clase, Ortiz Indicted for Allegedly Throwing Balls to Aid Gamblers

Sportsbooks that have agreed to the new rules include Bally’s, Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, Circa, DraftKings, 888, Fanatics, FanDuel, Hard Rock, Penn, Pointsbet, Rush Street, and several other notable operators across the regulated sports betting market.

“Since the Supreme Court decision opened the door to legalized 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,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. 

The new rule comes after Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted by prosecutors in New York for allegedly working with gamblers on rigging pitch bets in MLB games. Both pitchers have been accused of intentionally throwing balls to start innings so that bettors could win bets on those specific pitches.

DeWine Calls on Other Leagues to Curtail Microbetting

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was one of the first public officials to acknowledge the scheme, immediately calling for the Ohio Casino Control Commission to remove all prop bets on individual athletes in the state. He praised MLB’s decision to also take action on the issue.

“I commend Commissioner Manfred, Major League Baseball, and its partners for taking action to address the problem of micro-prop bets,” DeWine said in a statement. “By limiting the ability to place large wagers on micro-prop bets, Major League Baseball is taking affirmative steps to protect the integrity of the game. I urge other sports leagues to follow Major League Baseball’s example with similar action.”

Prop bets have long been seen as the part of the sports betting ecosystem most easy to manipulate, especially since they wager on isolated occurrences in a game. While the overall incentives to players to participate may still be small compared to their salaries, the ease of altering the outcome of a game, match, or series can make it more enticing for an athlete to participate in the scheme. 

Officials at some of the United States's largest sportsbooks said they agreed with the decision and will continue to work with sports leagues to combat integrity issues.

“The legalized sports betting industry is built on a foundation of dialogue and collaboration with our league partners and the states in which we operate,” FanDuel President Christian Genetski said in a statement. “This initiative illustrates our unwavering commitment to building a legal and regulated market that roots out abuses by those who seek to undermine fair competition and damage the integrity of the games we love.”