MLB, Sportsbook Partners Make Major Wagering Decision To “Root Out Abuse’
Monday, November 10, 2025 at 11:28AM By Barry Janoff
November 10, 2025: Calling it a decision “intended to mitigate integrity risks, and maintain the transparency and data access benefits that the regulated sports betting market provides,” MLB today said it 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.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said these new measures are being implemented across sportsbook operators representing more than 98% of the U.S. betting market, led by and in cooperation with FanDuel and DraftKings. “They are intended to mitigate integrity risks, and maintain the transparency and data access benefits that the regulated sports betting market provides”
According to MLB, 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.
MLB said the agreement included Bally's, Bet365, BetMGM, Bet99, Betr, Caesars, Circa, DraftKings, 888, Fanatics, FanDuel, Gamewise, Hard Rock, Intralot, Jack Entertainment, Mojo, Northstar Gaming, Oaklawn, Penn, Pointsbet, Potawatomi, Rush Street and Underdog.
MLB said it has been working on the change since the summer, but was officially implemented one day after two MLB payers were indicated on gambling charges.
This past summer, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called for a ban on such micro-proposition bets and has been working with MLB to help them become implemented.
According to ESPN, “On Sunday (Nov. 9), federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment that charged Cleveland Guardians starter Luis Ortiz and Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase for their alleged roles in a gambling scheme centered on whether individual pitches would be balls or strikes as well as the over/under on the velocity of some pitches.
“According to the indictment, gamblers won approximately $450,000 on bets on individual pitches during the alleged scheme.”
MLB said “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.”
“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,” Manfred said via MLB.
“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.”
Christian Genetsk, FanDuel president, said via the sportsbook, “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.”
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