Is Sports Betting Corrupting Major League Sports

By Fiona McHugh
In October of this year, a gambling scandal involving current NBA players and coaches affected the league. This July, Major League Baseball began to investigate Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emannuel Clase and Luis L. Ortiz for allegedly rigging their pitches so others could place bets. Clase and Ortiz were indicted over the weekend, prompting swift changes to MLB sportsbook policies. 

Clase, a three-time All-Star, allegedly began throwing pitches in the dirt as early as 2023. It is estimated that he earned over $400,000. Ortiz is alleged to have joined this past season, garnering around $60,000 after joining Clase’s scheme. Both men have been charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy. Both face up to 60 years in prison. 

In 2018, the Supreme Court essentially legalized gambling in the case Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Since then, the floodgates have opened up for sports gambling of every kind. Proprietary bets, or “prop bets,” are extremely popular types of bets that are essentially “microbets” on infinitesimal aspects of the game. For example, a basketball player missing a specific free throw, or in this case, an individual pitcher throwing a ball instead of a strike. 

Prop bets pose a specific kind of integrity risk within the sports world, given that they are relatively hard to detect, and for most players, they don’t carry a lot of weight or major impact. Prop bets can easily happen on the sly and also effectively benefit everyone involved. For example, Ortiz threw a ball instead of a strike on June 15, 2023, against the Seattle Mariners that allegedly earned him $5,000. Additionally, fans can place small bets throughout the game that keep them watching and engaged. As a result, many professional sports leagues have actually implemented gambling promotions within their marketing. For example, broadcasters mention gambling odds multiple times throughout sports games, while sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings are now direct partners with most major sports leagues. Sports gambling has become integrated into the game for players, fans, and distributors alike. 

On Monday, MLB implemented regulations regarding betting on individual pitches in direct response to Clase and Ortiz’s actions. Bettors are now restricted from placing bets valued over $200 for individual pitches, and individual pitches have been removed from parlays, which are a type of longer wager that earns a potentially larger payout. The MLB’s betting partners have responded to the changes. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred described the changes as a “national solution to address the risks posed by these pitch-level markets, which are particularly vulnerable to integrity concerns.”