MLB, sportsbooks to limit prop bets on pitches after betting scandal

A day after two Cleveland Guardians pitchers were indicted on charges they took bribes from sports bettors to throw certain types of pitches to ensure winning wagers, MLB announced an agreement Monday with major U.S. sportsbooks to establish a national betting limit on prop bets on individual pitches.

All MLB authorized sportsbook partners will cap wagers on pitch markets at $200 and exclude those bets from parlays.

Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz took several thousand dollars in payoffs to help two gamblers from their native Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 on in-game prop bets on whether certain pitches would be balls or strikes — including some that landed in the dirt — as well as the over/under on the speed of some pitches, according to an indictment unsealed Sunday in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

MLB said the agreement included Nevada sportsbooks BetMGM, Caesars and Circa, along with 19 other sportsbooks that don’t operate in Nevada, including industry leaders DraftKings and FanDuel.

“Circa Sports is an Authorized Gaming Operator for MLB,” Circa sportsbook director Chris Bennett told the Review-Journal in a text message. “I don’t think we had a say in the new guidance/requirements for these types of baseball props, but we are probably bound by it.

“We have never offered a market for an individual pitch in MLB.”

The Westgate SuperBook, South Point and STN Sports don’t offer individual pitch markets, either.

“Hell no,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said in a text message.

Efforts to reach Caesars Sportsbook and BetMGM for that information weren’t successful.

MLB said these new measures are intended to mitigate integrity risks on these “micro-bet” markets and will take away the incentive to engage in misconduct.

“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. “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.”

Manfred also lauded Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for calling for a ban on these bets in July after MLB began investigating suspicious betting activity on Clase and Ortiz.

“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 and reduce the incentives to participate in improper betting schemes,” DeWine said in a statement. “I urge other sports leagues to follow Major League Baseball’s example with similar action.”

FanDuel president Christian Genetski said in a statement that the legalized sports betting industry will continue to work with its league partners and states in which they operate to uncover any suspicious wagering activity.

“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,” he said.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.