Ohio regulators weighing a ban on first-pitch wagers, other prop bets - ESPN

Gambling regulators in Ohio want to prohibit sportsbooks from offering so-called microbets, including betting markets on first pitches in Major League Baseball, amid a gambling investigation into two Cleveland Guardians pitchers.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC), at the request of Gov. Mike DeWine, is reviewing the types of microbets currently offered by the state's books on all sports, before drafting a rule to remove some player-specific props from the list of approved wagers, executive director Matt Schuler told ESPN on Friday.

The proposed new rule would need approval from the Commission and the Ohio legislature before going into effect.

In a news release published July 31, DeWine referenced Major League Baseball's «sports betting investigation» into Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase and asked the OCCC to remove prop bets on «highly specific events within games that are completely controlled by one player.»

DeWine said in the release that he would be asking the commissioners and players unions from MLB, NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL and MLS to support the effort to «ban prop betting to ensure the integrity of their leagues.» Schuler said DeWine's request was focused on the in-game, player-specific micro-bets, not all player prop bets.

Major League Baseball is having ongoing conversations regarding how to address microbets, according to a source familiar with the issue. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters during the All-Star Break that he believes certain types of microbets, such as ones on individual pitches, are «unnecessary and particularly vulnerable.»

The OCCC, collectively with MLB and independently, has been investigating the unusual betting interest on first pitches by Ortiz in select