Major League Baseball said its authorized gaming operators will limit bets on individual pitches to $200 and exclude them from parlays a day later. two Cleveland Guardians were indicted and accused of manipulating fields on behalf of gamblers.
MLB said Monday that the limits were agreed to by sportsbook operators representing more than 98% of the U.S. gambling market. The league said in a statement that field-level betting on the outcomes of pitch speed and balls and strikes “carries increased integrity risks because they focus on one-off events that can be determined by a single player and may be immaterial to the outcome of the game.”
“The risk in these markets at field level will be significantly mitigated by this new action aimed at encouraging misconduct,” the league said. “Creating a strict betting limit for these types of bets, and prohibiting parlaying them, reduces the payout for these markets and the ability to circumvent the new limit.”
Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted Sunday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on charges that they took bribes from sports gamblers to throw certain types of pitches. They were charged with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sports competitions by bribery and money laundering conspiracy. According to the indictment, they helped two unnamed gamblers in the Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 betting on the speed and outcome of certain pitches, including some that landed in the mud.
Ortiz’s attorney, Chris Georgalis, said in a statement that his client was innocent and “never inappropriately influenced a game and never would do so – for anyone and for nothing.” An attorney for Clase, Michael J. Ferrara, said his client “has dedicated his life to baseball and has done everything in his power to help his team win. Emmanuel is innocent of all charges and looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
The US Supreme Court in 2018 ruled that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 was unconstitutionalallowing states to legalize sports betting.
Ortiz appeared in federal court on Monday in Boston. U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell granted Ortiz his release on the condition that he surrender his passport, restrict his travel to the northeastern U.S. and post $500,000 bail, of which $50,000 was posted as security. Ortiz was ordered to avoid contact with anyone who could be considered a victim, witness or co-suspect.
Last month, more than 30 people attended, including the Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, were arrested for their alleged role in an alleged scheme for gamblers to use insider information.
Billups’ attorney, Chris Heywood, issued a statement denying the allegations and Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, said in a statement that his client is “not a gambler” and “looks forward to winning this fight.”
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