Baseball Betting: A New Rule to Keep the Game Clean

Major League Baseball (MLB) and big sports betting companies have come to an agreement. They will now limit bets on individual pitches to $200. This rule applies across the country. They also decided to stop including these bets in parlays. Why? To make it harder for people to cheat. This all started when something odd happened. In June, people noticed strange betting on pitches by Luis Ortiz. He plays for the Cleveland Guardians. After this, MLB talked to sportsbooks about changing betting rules. On Sunday, something big happened. Federal prosecutors said Ortiz and another player, Emmanuel Clase, were involved in a gambling scheme. The scheme was about whether pitches would be balls or strikes. It also involved betting on the speed of pitches. According to the prosecutors, gamblers won about $450, 000 from this scheme. MLB thinks this new rule will help. It will make people less likely to try and cheat. Rob Manfred, the MLB commissioner, said they have been working with sportsbooks for seven years. Their main goal is to keep the game fair for fans. Ohio's governor, Mike DeWine, also spoke up. He wanted a ban on these small bets after MLB started looking into the strange betting activity. He said this new rule is a good step. It protects the game and makes cheating less tempting. Two big sports betting companies, DraftKings and FanDuel, agreed to the changes. They said they will adjust their betting menus. They also believe that the legal betting market can help stop bad behavior. Christian Genetski, the president of FanDuel, said they will keep working with sports leagues. They want to stop corruption and keep the games fair.