Gov. Mike DeWine has been battling to ban micro proposition or prop bets, which are wagers on one-off actions athletes take during a game, which settle as soon as a play is over. DeWine – who’s long been concerned about gambling and is a part owner of a minor league baseball team – has been holding off on demanding state action on those bets for now.
DeWine said he spoke with Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manford when the Cincinnati Reds played the Atlanta Braves at the MLB Speedway Classic in Bristol, TN in August. DeWine said Manford agrees with him that big-money micro prop bets are a bad idea. And he said the MLB is close to a deal with the sports gambling operators to block them.
“It looks like they have an agreement with all the sports gaming companies except one. And they think they'll get that agreement after the World Series basically to limit micro prop bets over $100, basically to exclude anything over $100," DeWine said in an interview. "We've looked at the numbers here, and we've also looked at where there's been problems. And the problems are clearly bets over $100."
DeWine ordered a ban on prop bets on college athletes last year, and in July he called for action after two Cleveland Guardians pitchers were put on leave in a gambling investigation. He said other major league sports are paying attention now too, especially after the arrests of an NBA player, ex-player, current coach and others in connection with a suspected illegal gambling scheme that's gone on for years.
"The NBA should be very concerned. Soccer should be very concerned," DeWine said. "The NFL, they reached out to us. So we're starting to talk to the NFL about this as well."
"It's a threat to the integrity of all these sports," DeWine added. "Look, the leagues have gotten in bed with with the gaming companies. I understand that. But some of these bets just—particularly the micro prop bets—just lend themselves to abuse."
DeWine has held off in calling for state action on micro prop bets, hoping instead for a nationwide ban. But he has suggested he would eventually ask the Ohio Casino Control Commission to ban those bets.
