Sports Betting Is Spiraling: Leagues, Sportsbooks Must Rein In Micro-Bets

There's clearly an ongoing problem with sports betting in this country. For the first time in my life, I cannot just laugh at someone when they say, "Sports are rigged." After the recent surge of sports betting scandals, I'm not as confident in the integrity of these leagues. 

Seemingly every day, a new point-shaving, player prop rigging, or match-fixing scheme is uncovered by the feds. Over the past few weeks, players in the NBA, UFC, and college basketball have been either charged, investigated for, or had their eligibility revoked for sports betting-related issues. 

On a football Sunday, the worst news day of the week, the MLB tried sneaking its sports betting scandal past the people, announcing the Department of Justice is charging Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz with conspiring with bettors to rig pitch-level micro-bets, such as first-pitch strike and velocity props. 

Well, as a result, MLB is successfully altering sports betting menus. Moving forward, MLB-authorized gambling operators, aka sportsbooks like DraftKings, FanDuel, etc., are capping pitch-level markets to $200 max wagers and banning them from parlays. 

MLB's logic: 

"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 player and can be inconsequential to the outcome of the game. The risk on these pitch-level markets will be significantly mitigated by this new action targeted at the incentive to engage in misconduct.

— MLB official statement

In all fairness, I see where MLB is coming from. It doesn't get anything from these betting markets. The "incentive" MLB is referring to is money, and by limiting the max bet, the squeeze isn't worth the juice for organized criminals, sports bettors, and athletes to rig these props. 

Yet, the fact that sportsbooks are still accepting $200 bets rather than ending "micro-betting" altogether is predatory and reveals just how greedy these sportsbooks are. Degenerates feeding an addiction or people with inside information are the only ones making these bets. Capping them doesn't help prevent problem gambling. 

I mean $200 per pitch adds up. There are 250-300 pitches per game and 2,500+ games per season when you factor in the playoffs. Hence, an addict can still ruin their lives by micro-betting. Plus, no one would miss these markets if they were gone. Professional sports bettors aren't getting down on pitch-level markets. 

Also, this is just the beginning of reform for sports betting menus. In response to the FBI's arrest of NBA players and coaches in connection with player prop fixing and involvement in illegal poker games, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke out about the need for more gambling regulation, especially when it comes to player props. 

Even though I'm pro-legalized sports betting, and the integrity firms do a good job of discovering bet-fixing, the popularity and accessibility of sports betting definitely play a role in the recent gambling-related issues. Unfortunately, the leagues and sportsbooks need to protect their integrity and save people from themselves. 

So, as much as it pains me to say this, sportsbooks should limit the surface area of corruption and problem gambling by ending micro-betting and possibly player props. The way this problem is trending, one of these knucklehead athletes will think they are slick and rig a player prop in a playoff or title game for money or street cred, or whatever is leading to these life-changing mistakes. 

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