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11/10 15:08 CST MLB, sportsbooks cap bets on individual pitches in response to
pitch rigging scandal
MLB, sportsbooks cap bets on individual pitches in response to pitch rigging
scandal
By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball Writer
Major League Baseball said its authorized gaming operators will cap bets on
individual pitches at $200 and exclude them from parlays, a day after two
Cleveland Guardians were indicted and accused of rigging pitches at the behest
of gamblers.
MLB said Monday the limits were agreed to by sportsbook operators representing
more than 98% of the U.S. betting market. The league said in a statement that
pitch-level bets on outcomes of pitch velocity and of balls and strikes
"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."
"The risk on these pitch-level markets will be significantly mitigated by this
new action targeted at the incentive to engage in misconduct," the league said.
"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."
Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted Sunday in U.S.
District Court in Brooklyn on charges they took bribes from sports bettors to
throw certain types of pitches. They were charged with wire fraud conspiracy,
honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting
contests by bribery and money laundering conspiracy.
Ortiz's lawyer, Chris Georgalis, said in a statement that his client was
innocent and "has never, and would never, improperly influence a game --- not
for anyone and not for anything." A lawyer for Clase, Michael J. Ferrara, said
his client "has devoted his life to baseball and doing 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 U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 ruled the Professional and Amateur Sports
Protection Act of 1992 was unconstitutional, allowing states to legalize sports
betting.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
