Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is pushing for a major change to the state’s sports betting rules.
On Thursday, DeWine called on the Ohio Casino Control Commission to remove all prop bets from the legal betting menu.
His call comes in the wake of a Major League Baseball investigation involving two Cleveland Guardians pitchers — Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase — who were recently placed on leave due to alleged ties to suspicious betting activity.
DeWine has long expressed concern about prop betting, especially after student-athletes at the University of Dayton received threats last year.
He’s now calling the issue a threat to both athletes and the integrity of sports.
“The evidence that prop betting is harming athletics in Ohio is reaching critical mass,” DeWine said. “The benefits are not worth the harm.”
He’s also asking the major pro sports leagues—including the NFL, NBA, MLB, and others—to support a national ban on prop betting.
While Ohio has already banned prop bets on college athletes, those restrictions didn’t extend to professional games.
That could soon change.