Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today the Commissioner’s Office has worked closely with its sportsbook partners to proactively create new safeguards to limit pitch-level markets. Effective immediately, all MLB Authorized Gaming Operators will cap wagers on pitch-level markets at $200 and exclude those bets from parlays. These new measures — implemented across sportsbook operators representing more than 98% of the U.S. betting market — are intended to mitigate integrity risks, and maintain the transparency and data access benefits that the regulated sports betting market provides.
Most prop bets present limited integrity risk because they take into account multiple events that are influenced by more than one actor. However, “micro-bet” pitch-level markets (e.g., ball/strike; pitch velocity) present heightened integrity risks because they focus on one-off events that can be determined by a single player and can be inconsequential to the outcome of the game. The risk on these pitch level markets will be significantly mitigated by this new action targeted at the incentive to engage in misconduct. The creation of a strict bet limit on this type of bet, and the ban on parlaying them, reduces the payout for these markets and the ability to circumvent the new limit.
Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. said: “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. I commend Ohio Governor DeWine for his leadership on this issue over the last several months. 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. We look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders, including licensed sports betting operators, elected officials and regulators, to ensure we are always protecting the integrity of our game.”
President of FanDuel, an Official Sportsbook Partner of MLB, Christian Genetski said, “The legalized sports betting industry is built on a foundation of dialogue and collaboration with our league partners and the states in which we operate. 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.”
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said: “I commend Commissioner Manfred, Major League Baseball, and its partners for taking this action to address the problem of micro-prop bets. 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. I urge other sports leagues to follow Major League Baseball’s example with similar action.”
