MLB, sportsbooks limit pitch bets to $200

MLB & Sportsbook Partnership - Major League Baseball (MLB) has secured commitments from sportsbook partners to limit profits from rigged pitches, covering 98% of the legal US sports betting market [1][2] - Agreed-upon restrictions will cap maximum bets on pitches at $200 [2] - Sportsbooks will exclude bets on pitches entirely from parlays [2] Integrity Concerns & Micro-Betting - Micro-bets create heightened integrity risks due to their focus on single events determined by a single player, which may be inconsequential to the game's outcome [5] - FanDuel already prohibits bets on field goals, free throws, turnovers, and fouls, and prop bets on players on 10-day contracts or two-way players [5][6] - Sportsbooks and leagues express a desire to preserve the integrity of the league, but allowing bets on quick flash pitches raises questions [10] Player Conduct & Potential Motives - The case of Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emanuel Claus, who had a $20 million 5-year contract, raises questions about the motives behind allegedly rigging pitches [3] - The scheme involving Claus and pitcher Louise Ortiz didn't even reach $500,000 [4] - For players with smaller contracts, like Ortiz (lifetime career salary of $1.6 million - $2 million), the allure of making thousands of dollars on a single pitch might be stronger [8] Sportsbook Perspective - Sportsbooks are also victims of cheating and want to ensure gamblers feel assured they are gambling on genuine knowledge, not rigged outcomes [7] - Limiting bets on pitches demonstrates that the legal market is working [6] - Offshore sports books also get cheated when people are cheating on sports [7]