MLB, sportsbooks agree to nationwide limit on pitch bets

Prominent U.S. sportsbooks are setting a $200 national limit on baseball bets centered on individual fields and prohibiting such bets from being included in parlays in an effort to reduce the incentive for manipulation, Major League Baseball announced Monday.

MLB has been in discussions with its licensed sports betting partners about potential changes to betting menus and limits since the summer, after unusual bets were detected on individual fields by Cleveland Guardians starter Luis Ortiz during two June games.

On Sunday, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging Ortiz and Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase for their alleged roles in a game scheme centered on whether individual pitches would be balls or strikes as well as the over/under speed of certain pitches. According to the indictment, players won approximately $450,000 on bets on individual locations during the alleged scheme.

MLB believes that reducing the amount bettors can win on these markets will deter attempts at manipulation. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said baseball has worked with the sports betting industry over the past seven years to “maintain our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games 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 vulnerable to integrity issues,” Manfred said, adding that he received guidance on the issue from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

DeWine called for a ban on such micro-prop betting after MLB launched its investigation in July into suspicious betting activity on Ortiz and Clase.

“By limiting the ability to place large bets on micro-prop bets, Major League Baseball is taking positive steps to protect the integrity of the game and reduce incentives to participate in improper betting schemes. I urge other sports leagues to follow Major League Baseball’s lead in taking similar steps,” DeWine said in the release.

DraftKings and FanDuel, the two largest sports betting 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 actors will serve as a deterrent to combat future problems.

“Together with Major League Baseball, we have adjusted certain betting types to further deter bad actors while helping to maintain fairness and trust in the game,” a DraftKings spokesperson told ESPN.

FanDuel President Christian Genetski said the legal betting industry will continue to collaborate with sports leagues and take steps to combat corruption.

“This initiative illustrates our unwavering commitment to building a legal and regulated market that eliminates abuses by those who seek to undermine fair competition and undermine the integrity of the games we love,” Genetski said.