NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
MLB announced that prominent U.S. sports betting operators are setting a national $200 limit on baseball prop bets focused on individual pitches in the wake of the indictment of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz for their alleged roles in a betting scheme.
The announcement also noted that individual pitch bets are now prohibited from being included in any parlay. The measure aims to reduce the incentive for players to manipulate the betting market.
After talks with licensed sports betting partners, which began this summer when Clase and Ortiz were suspended amid a betting investigation, MLB is cracking down.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
Emmanuel Clase, left, and Luis Ortiz, were indicted in a federal gambling investigation on Nov. 9, 2025. (IMAGE)
“I commend the industry for working with us to take action on a national solution to address the risks posed by these on-field markets, which are particularly vulnerable to integrity concerns,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine also offered guidance to Manfred on the issue. Manfred noted that MLB has worked with its sportsbook partners for the past seven years to “maintain our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for fans.”
Federal prosecutors on Sunday unsealed an indictment against Clase and Ortiz for their alleged role in a betting scheme centered on whether individual pitches were called balls or strikes, a common bet that major sportsbooks offer their customers.
GUARDIANS PITCHERS CHARGED IN BETTING SCHEME INVOLVING MLB GAMES
The indictment alleges that players made about $450,000 by betting on individual pitches during the scheme, in which pitchers allegedly told them what would be pitched.
MLB hopes that reducing the amount bettors can win on such bets will discourage market manipulation. DeWine wanted to go further by banning prop betting entirely following the investigation into Clase and Ortiz last season in his state.
“By limiting the ability to place large bets on micro-bets, Major League Baseball is taking affirmative steps to protect the integrity of the game and reduce incentives to engage in inappropriate betting schemes,” DeWine said in a news release. “I urge other sports leagues to follow Major League Baseball’s lead with similar actions.”
Fanatics Sportsbook is among the major legalized sports betting operations in the US that have agreed to adjust their baseball betting to comply with MLB requests.
Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz remain on leave amid a betting investigation as the World Series approaches. (David Dermer and Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn)
“The legal sports betting market was designed to collaborate with regulators, leagues and lawmakers to provide a safe betting experience for sports fans,” Fanatics Sportsbook said in a statement to Pak Gazette Digital. “At Fanatics, we believe that addressing on-field markets with Major League Baseball is a way to demonstrate that the legal market is working, as well as a prudent step to protect the integrity of our national pastime.”
Clase and Ortiz are charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to wire fraud, conspiracy to influence sports competitions through bribery, and money laundering.
“We are aware of the recent police action. We will continue to fully cooperate with both law enforcement authorities and Major League Baseball as they continue their investigations,” the Guardians said.
The pitchers were placed on administrative leave on July 3 due to the gambling investigation.
Clase and Ortiz “conspired with bettors to manipulate pitches in professional baseball games so that bettors would profit from illegal bets made based on that inside information,” the indictment said. “The defendants agreed in advance with their co-conspirators to make specific types and speeds of pitches, and their co-conspirators used that inside information to place bets on those pitches.
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase during a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco on June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
“In some cases, the defendants received bribes and kickback payments, funneled through third parties, in exchange for fixing pitches. Through this scheme, the defendants defrauded betting platforms, deprived Major League Baseball and the Cleveland Guardians of their honest services, illegally enriched themselves and their co-conspirators, deceived the public, and betrayed America’s pastime.”
Officials said in the indictment that from May 2023 to June 2025, Clase agreed with a co-conspirator to “make specific pitches in certain MLB games” so that bettors they allegedly associated with “would benefit from illegal bets placed based on that inside information.” Ortiz allegedly joined the scheme in June 2025.
