Ohio Governor calls for prohibition of prop bets following gambling accusations involving Guardians team members

A prop bet is a wager on an individual player or a specific event in a game, rather than the final outcome of the game. The number of strikeouts a pitcher throws or if a player hits a home run are examples of prop bets. 

“The evidence that prop betting is harming athletics in Ohio is reaching critical mass,” DeWine said in a news release. “The harm to athletes and the integrity of the game is clear, and the benefits are not worth the harm. The prop betting experiment in this country has failed badly.” 

DeWine is calling on the commissioners and players unions of Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and Major League Soccer to support the ban on prop betting. 

Ohio does not allow bettors to place prop bets on college athletes. Instead, Ohio bettors are able to make bets on the overall outcome and final score of college sporting events. This happened after NCAA President Charlie Baker wrote a letter to the OCCC asking for the change in 2024. 

Prior to Baker’s letter, DeWine had spoken out against threats made against University of Dayton basketball players shortly after Ohio launched legalized sports gambling in 2023. 

“The Ohio Casino Control Commission took quick action to protect student athletes from unnecessary and potentially harmful threats,” DeWine said back in 2024. “Amending rules to focus bets on the team and away from individual athletes will improve the marketplace in Ohio and properly focus betting attention on the teams and away from individual student athletes.”

MLB placed Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz on non-disciplinary paid leave on July 3 to look into gambling charges against him during Guardians games in June. About two weeks later, MLB extended Ortiz’s leave of absence through Aug. 31. 

On July 28, MLB also placed Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase on non-disciplinary paid leave through Aug. 31 as part of a related sports betting investigation.