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The MLB is the latest pro sports league to find itself dealing with a betting scandal after Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase were embroiled in a gambling probe. Now, the governor of the state that Cleveland calls home is pushing for a ban on the prop bets that have emerged as a major source of potential corruption.
It’s been seven years since Delaware became the first state to legalize sports betting within its borders in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that opened the door for the sweeping normalization of a practice that’s now permitted in the majority of states in America.
That development might have been a welcome change for many sports fans, but there were inevitably going to be some downsides. There’s somewhat predictably been a rise in people who’ve developed a gambling addiction, virtually every broadcast has been tainted by betting ads and in-game promos, and—most worryingly—a number of professional athletes have been targeted in investigations that have undermined the integrity of multiple leagues.
The most notable example is Jontay Porter, who is slated to serve a lengthy prison sentence after being hit with a lifetime ban from the NBA for the illegal betting scheme that brought his career to an ignominious end.
Malik Beasley and Terry Rozier have also come under scrutiny due to similar allegations, and the MLB recently ended up with a similar problem on its hands due to the evidence that led to two members of the Gurdians being suspended as the league looks into the suspicious behavior that raised some red flags.
Prop bets have played an integral role in most of those cases, and Ohio could be cracking down on them as a result.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is pushing for a ban on prop bets in the state in the wake of the Cleveland Guardians gambling scandal
It’s been around a month since the MLB announced Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz had been placed on “non-disciplinary paid leave” after a gambling auditing firm flagged a couple of atrocious pitches that were linked to some suspicious betting patterns involving people who placed a ball-or-strike “microbet” before they were thrown.
Earlier this week, Cleveland reliever Emmanuel Clase was also involuntarily sidelined after the probe into Ortiz reportedly uncovered evidence that led investigators to believe he may have bet on games he played in, which is obviously a big no-no.
Ohio officially kicked off its Legal Sports Betting Era at the beginning of 2023, and on Thursday, Governor Mike DeWine announced he has asked the Ohio Casino Control Commission to outlaw prop bets.
The evidence that prop betting is harming athletics in Ohio is reaching critical mass. A particular problem is with micro prop bets – prop bets on highly specific events within games that are completely controlled by one player.
More: https://t.co/L2hpuPWOcl pic.twitter.com/FGZUh7nshT
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) July 31, 2025
DeWine noted his decision to back that move also stemmed from the NCAA’s push to ban sportsbooks from offering individual prop bets pertaining to college athletics due to the number of players who’ve been harassed, saying:
“The evidence that prop betting is harming athletics in Ohio is reaching critical mass. First, there were threats on Ohio athletes, and now two high-profile Ohio professional athletes have been suspended by Major League Baseball as part of a ‘sports betting investigation.’”
It may be an unfortunate development for bettors who enjoy those particular wagers, but it’s getting increasingly hard to ignore the problems they’re causing.