In the wake of a sports betting scandal currently impacting MLB, the league has announced that some of the most prominent sportsbooks in the United States are implementing changes to their baseball markets.
MLB announced Monday that some of the prominent U.S. sportsbooks will be introducing a maximum wager of $200 on bets focused on individual pitch outcomes. Those bets will also be prohibited from being included in parlay wagers.
This comes on the heels of the federal indictment which charged Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase for their involvement in a sports betting scheme. The two pitchers are alleged to have accepted payment related to individual pitch markets, specifically whether individual pitches would result in strikes or balls, as well as the velocity of those pitches.
According to the indictment, bettors won as much as $450,000 by wagering on the outcome of individual pitches in the scheme. But MLB is hoping to curb such manipulation by limiting the amount that can be wagered on those types of markets.
Clase and Ortiz are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy in connection to the scheme to rig individual pitches. Both could face north of 60 years in prison.
Per ESPN, DraftKings and FanDuel, the two largest sportsbooks in the United States, have agreed to abide by MLB’s request in order to ensure fairness.
Since sports betting was legalized in the United States, there have been multiple instances of corruption involving athletes across various leagues, including the NBA, college sports, and MLB, among others.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLB, Sportsbooks Agree to Set Wager Limit on Individual Pitch Bets.
