Ohio Seeks to Regulate Micro-bets on Sporting Events
The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) is considering banning micro-bets on sporting events, including betting markets on Major League Baseball (MLB) opening pitches. This measure comes amid an investigation into betting related to two pitchers from the Cleveland Guardians. Matt Schuler, executive director of the OCCC, reported that the commission will review the types of micro-bets currently offered by the state’s betting houses, at the request of Governor Mike DeWine. The goal is to draft a rule to remove some specific player bets from the list of approved bets. The new proposed rule will require approval from the Commission and the Ohio legislature before taking effect. In a press release issued on July 31, DeWine referenced the MLB’s “investigation into sports betting,” involving Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase. DeWine requested that the OCCC eliminate prop bets on “highly specific events within games that are completely controlled by a player.” DeWine stated that he will ask commissioners and players’ unions from MLB, NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, and MLS to support the initiative to “ban prop bets in order to ensure the integrity of their leagues.” Schuler clarified that DeWine’s request focuses on specific in-game player micro-bets, and not all player prop bets. According to a source close to the matter, MLB is holding ongoing conversations about how to address micro-betting. Rob Manfred, MLB commissioner, mentioned during the All-Star Break that he considers certain types of micro-betting, such as those related to individual pitches, to be “unnecessary and particularly vulnerable”. The OCCC, in collaboration with MLB and independently, has been investigating unusual interest in betting on Ortiz’s first pitches in selected innings of two games played in June, according to Schuler. Ortiz was placed on paid administrative leave on July 3. Clase was placed on paid administrative leave on July 28, as part of MLB’s investigation into sports betting. The Guardians reported in a statement that “no other players or club personnel are expected to be affected”. The American Gaming Association, a Washington D.C.-based trade group representing the casino industry, opposed any ban on bet types. In a statement, they stated that “a ban doesn’t stop betting, it stops oversight. Illegal operators won’t abide by bans, won’t partner with leagues, and won’t protect players or fans. The most effective path is education and deterrence: ensuring every athlete knows the rules, understands the risks, and recognizes that if they compromise the integrity of the game, the legal market will detect it.” An industry source in the gaming sector indicated that betting houses are willing to listen to the concerns of regulators and leagues, and to adjust their betting menus accordingly. The source mentioned the restrictions imposed on prop bets involving NBA players with two-way contracts, which arose after the Jontay Porter betting scandal.Betting on balls and strikes for the initial pitches of innings is not widely offered at offshore sportsbooks. Adam Burn, sportsbook manager at the Panama-based online sportsbook BetOnline.ag, indicated that they choose not to offer bets on the first pitches before or during the game because the market is exploitable by betting syndicates. “It’s too dangerous to offer it before the game and even more dangerous live,” Burn said.
