-
David Purdum
Major League Baseball announced Monday that major U.S. sportsbooks are setting a nationwide $200 betting limit on baseball bets centered on individual pitches and banning such bets from being included in parlays in an effort to reduce incentives for manipulation.
MLB is in discussions with its authorized sportsbook partners about possible changes to the betting menu and limits by the summer, after unusual bets on individual pitches were discovered. cleveland patron starter luis ortiz In a pair of June games.
on sunday, Federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment That brought Ortiz and the Guardians closer Emmanuel Class For their alleged roles in the gambling scheme, which focused on whether individual pitches would be balls or strikes as well as the over/under on the velocity of certain pitches. According to the indictment, gamblers won approximately $450,000 on bets on individual pitches during the alleged scheme.
MLB said that reducing the amount that bettors can win in such markets would discourage manipulation attempts. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said baseball has worked with the sportsbook industry over the past seven years to maintain “our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our game for fans.”
“I 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 sensitive to integrity concerns,” Manfred said. He said he had received guidance from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on the issue.
DeWine called for a ban on such micro-offer bets after MLB began investigating Ortiz and Klaas in July for suspicious betting activity.
“By limiting the ability to place large wagers on micro-prop bets, Major League Baseball is taking positive steps to protect the integrity of the game and reduce the incentive to participate in unfair betting schemes,” DeWine said in the release. “I urge other sports leagues to follow Major League Baseball’s example with similar action.”
DraftKings and FanDuel, the two largest sportsbook operators, said they have agreed to adjust their baseball betting menus to comply with MLB’s requests and believe the legal market’s ability to detect bad players will serve as a deterrent to future issues.
“In collaboration with Major League Baseball, we have adjusted certain types of wagering to deter bad actors while helping maintain fairness and trust in the game,” a DraftKings spokesperson told ESPN.
FanDuel President Christian Janetsky said the legal betting industry will continue to cooperate with sports leagues and take steps to combat corruption.
“This initiative reflects our unwavering commitment to building a legal and regulated market that roots out abuses by those who seek to undermine fair competition and harm the integrity of the sports we love,” Janetsky said.
