What are prop bets, and why can’t sports leagues escape them?
LAS VEGAS AP Major League Baseball and its affiliated sportsbooks offered a fast reaction Monday to the latest on a growing list of sports betting scandals capping bets on individual pitches at and excluding them from parlays to keep those prop bets from jeopardizing the integrity of the sport That decision came a day after Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted on charges they took bribes from sports bettors to purposely throw certain types of pitches that would pay off bets Bettors allegedly made at least off the rigged pitches Prop bets are also at the center of a outrage in the NBA Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested Oct and accused of providing inside information on teammates injuries to gamblers and removing himself prematurely from an NBA contest The four major North American sports leagues and a great number of of their teams have embraced legal wagering and formed partnerships with sports-betting companies while at the same time insisting the integrity of their games are what matters most of Prop bets have become a point of contention Here s what to know What are prop bets Gamblers can bet on anything from how plenty of yards a quarterback will throw for in a battle to how multiple points an NBA contestant will points In-game wagering allows for even more granular betting such as whether the first pitch in the fourth inning of an MLB battle will be a strike Prop bets that depend entirely on the efforts of one person like the ones Clase and Ortiz are charged with targeting are ripe for exploitation MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver are among those who have appealed for limits around such wagers Ohio Gov Mike DeWine has called for the Ohio Casino Control Commission to end player-specific micro betting entirely Others have suggested allowing payoffs only on the over because it would be arduous to rig that kind of outcome Even before baseball made its announcement betting limits also have been floated as a achievable way to at least curb gamblers working together with athletes to alter how games are played Are prop bets here to stay MLB s announcement Monday about limiting action on pitch-level prop bets marked a rare win for those concerned about them MLB noted in a message that the bulk prop bets present limited integrity menace because they take into account multiple events that are influenced by more than one actor However micro-bet pitch-level markets e g ball strike pitch velocity present heightened integrity risks because they focus on one-off events that can be determined by a single sportsman and can be inconsequential to the outcome of the encounter Pitch-level micro bets are hardly the only wager offered by books that can be impacted by just one competitor Think of minutes played yards gained or points scored Such bets are easy to find and also dictated by actions of individual athletes Despite that given the money at stake it s highly unlikely prop bets are going away Betting partners have become a tremendous source of income for leagues and teams and prop bets are a big driver For the sportsbooks too because they can massively expand their wagering menus Prop bets also help keep gamblers engaged with meeting action even in blowouts That benefits leagues teams and sportsbooks at a time when alternative entertainment options have never been more plentiful Several leagues including the NBA and PGA Tour have even experimented with betting-specific alternate broadcasts to spur that engagement How do leagues protect themselves All four major North American leagues use monitoring services that track in real time for exceptional betting activity If any is detected that information is disclosed at once to that specific league It s unclear whether MLB s utility tipped off baseball that something could be afoul with the Guardians players but it was the league that notified functionaries of a prospective concern Rozier is a subject in a larger-scale FBI inspection that resulted in more than arrests though the NBA conducted its own inquiry and mentioned it ascertained no evidence of wrongdoing Whether the NBA was alerted through its monitoring system is uncertain Do the leagues have an integrity difficulty It depends Those who assistance legalized sports betting say the system is working as designed because perpetrators are being caught It s much easier to track if athletes are involved with gambling than it was when most of wagers were handled out of sight through illegal bookies Detractors argue that easy access to legal betting attracts those including athletes who otherwise wouldn t gamble on sports AP MLB https apnews com hub mlb Source
