CLEVELAND, Ohio — Major League Baseball has placed restrictions on betting on individual pitches, capping wagers at $200 and prohibiting those bets from being grouped with other bets, known as “parlays,” effective immediately.
MLB says the changes will reduce the payouts for these kinds of bets, and make it harder for bettors to find places to put more money on these kinds of wagers.
The move comes after two Guardians pitchers, Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, were indicted Sunday on federal charges related to a pitch-fixing scheme that prosecutors in New York say led their co-conspirators to profit by more than $450,000.
MLB says it worked with its sportsbook partners to establish safeguards across operators representing more than 98% of the U.S. betting market.
The measures target what the league calls “micro-bet” markets, such as whether a pitch will be a ball or strike, or the velocity of individual pitches.
According to an announcement from MLB, these pitch-level markets present heightened integrity risks because they focus on one-off events that can be determined by a single player and may have little impact on game outcomes.
By contrast, most prop bets, such as how many hits a player will have in a game, carry limited integrity risk because they involve multiple events influenced by more than one player.
The 23-page indictment unsealed Sunday by the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York implicated Clase and Ortiz in a scheme that included bets on whether a pitch thrown at a certain point in a game would be a ball or strike, and in some cases the velocity of the pitch.
Ortiz was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave on July 3 while the league conducted its investigation. Clase joined him on paid leave three weeks later. Both are currently on MLB’s restricted list with their futures in the game uncertain.
Both men face up to 65 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Ortiz was arrested Tuesday in Boston. Clase is not currently in custody, according to multiple reports.
MLB Commissioner Rob D. Manfred Jr. credited Ohio Governor Mike DeWine for leadership on the issue over recent months.
“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,” Manfred said in a statement.
Christian Genetski, president of FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of MLB, said the initiative demonstrates the industry’s commitment to preventing abuses.
In a statement, DeWine praised the action and called on other sports leagues to follow MLB’s example.
“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.
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