MLB, sportsbooks limit pitch-specific bets after players charged in bet-rigging scheme

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By Amy Tennery

(Reuters) -Major League Baseball and its sportsbook partners moved to limit pitch-level wagering on Monday, a day after two players for the Cleveland Guardians were charged in a scheme to rig bets on pitches during games.

Pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase allegedly agreed in advance to throw balls rather than strikes for specific pitches in exchange for bribes to rig proposition bets, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Proposition bets, known as “prop bets”, are related to events or statistics within a game.

Authorized gaming operators will cap wagers on pitch-specific bets at $200 and exclude those bets from parlays, MLB said, measures it said were aimed at mitigating “integrity risks.”

“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,” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said in a statement.

“I urge other sports leagues to follow Major League Baseball’s example with similar action.”

ATTORNEYS SAY CLIENTS INNOCENT

Ortiz appeared in a Boston courthouse on Monday after being charged for his alleged role in the scheme. An attorney for Ortiz said he was innocent of the charges.

“He has never, and would never, improperly influence a game, not for anyone and not for anything,” attorney Chris Georgalis said in a statement.

“There is no credible evidence Luis knowingly did anything other than try to win games, with every pitch and in every inning,” Georgalis said. “Luis looks forward to fighting these charges in court. The government’s case is weak and circumstantial.”

Ortiz was arrested in Boston on Sunday and will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date. Clase was not in U.S. custody as of Sunday. 

“Emmanuel Clase has devoted his life to baseball and doing everything in his power to help his team win,” his attorney, Michael J. Ferrara, said in a statement. “Emmanuel is innocent of all charges and looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

Clase, a three-time All-Star who signed a five-year extension worth a reported $20 million with the Guardians in 2022, agreed to rig the prop bets beginning in 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, while Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme in 2025.

The pair face decades in prison if found guilty.

“MLB contacted federal law enforcement at the outset of its investigation and has fully cooperated throughout the process,” the league said in a statement on Sunday. “Our investigation is ongoing.”

SPORTS BETTING WILDLY POPULAR IN US

This is the latest high-profile case of alleged sports betting corruption after arrests last month involving National Basketball Association games. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones were charged last month in a federal gambling investigation.

Rozier and Jones, among more than 30 people charged in connection with two related investigations, were accused of providing non-public information about games to criminal partners to set up bets.

Sports betting has exploded in popularity across the U.S. since the Supreme Court paved the way for states to legalize it in 2018, with all of the men’s “Big Four” North American leagues locked in agreements with official betting partners.

Nationwide sports betting revenue reached $13.71 billion in 2024, according to the American Gaming Association.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Additional reporting by Sophie Park in Boston; Editing by Donna Bryson and Bill Berkrot)