As Major League Baseball last July announced the suspension of two Cleveland Guardians pitchers in a sports betting scandal that would escalate into a federal wire fraud case, Gov. Mike DeWine made a bold proclamation.
He said it was time to ban “all” prop bets, referring to bets on events that occur within a sport, like whether a given rush play will yield more than 7 yards or who will lead after the first half of a basketball game.
“The prop betting experiment in this country has failed badly,” DeWine said at the time.
A year later, Ohio hasn’t passed any law or rule restricting prop bets. In the time since, federal prosecutors plus collegiate and professional athletic leagues have accused a growing list of players of different kinds of unlawful and fraudulent sports betting-related schemes.
DeWine has since narrowed his focus to “microprop” bets, referring to bets on events within a single play, not a full game, usually controlled by a single player. These, especially for non-desirable outcomes like a missed shot, are seen as uniquely vulnerable to manipulation.
Even with the slimmed down focus, Ohio hasn’t imposed any new limitations on the kinds of bets that books can offer. And only MLB has agreed to restrictions on pitch-level wagers, an agreement that can be dissolved without state input.
A DeWine spokesperson said this week that negotiations continue with the NFL, whose regular season games start next month. But a person familiar with the discussions said the talks have stalled.
Ohio’s sports betting law gives state regulators unilateral legal power to prohibit certain bets if requested by professional leagues. But the leagues haven’t made such requests. While the Ohio Casino Control Commission – regulators appointed by the governor – could propose such an idea on their own, it’d be subject to lawmakers’ approval. Thus far, regulators haven’t tried.
A commission spokesperson said the regulators want the leagues to reach deals with sportsbooks on their own, without the state’s involvement.
“Governor DeWine’s goals are better served by the industry collaborating on a nationwide solution, rather than the Ohio Commission acting alone,” said Samantha Byrnes, an agency spokesperson.
“There is no failure to reach an agreement. It is merely multiple parties coming together to discuss ways to improve integrity.”
Signal Statewide reached out to the two major sportsbooks in Ohio, FanDuel and DraftKings, for comment. Only the latter responded.
While the company didn’t specifically answer whether they’d support some of DeWine’s proposed changes, a company spokesperson said that keeping prop bets legal means regulators and law enforcement will be able to detect them, unlike in the black market.
The NFL isn’t on board
In the NFL – where even ho-hum preseason games draw more viewers than other sports’ big nights – the regular season starts Sept. 9.
DeWine and the league have negotiated to no avail. Dan Tierney, a spokesperson for the governor, confirmed the governor has asked the leagues to restrict the prop bets. He declined to comment on pending negotiations, but said, “We have every reason to believe that the leagues are taking this issue seriously.”
But a person familiar with the negotiations said the OCCC and the NFL were unable to agree on the scope of the kinds of bets that might be banned.
The NFL has circulated a memo to league owners that states it has been “actively engaged with both state lawmakers and regulators” to ban prop bets that are:
- “Inherently objectionable,” like betting on a player’s injury
- Referee related
- “Determinable by one person on one play”
- Or pre-determined, like the strategy of the first play of the game
Without the OCCC’s involvement, it’s unclear exactly what bets the books might offer in the future.
As of Friday, DraftKings offered a wager that pays out if New York Jets’ running back Breece Hall runs for more than 5 yards on his first offensive drive of the preseason. FanDuel offered a range of bets on how many yards Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham will throw in his first drive.
MLB limits prop bets on pitches
The U.S. Department of Justice on Nov. 6 announced its indictments of Guardians players Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz on charges of wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy.
They’re accused of coordinating bets with outsiders and deliberately throwing balls on specific pitches in exchange for bribes or kickbacks. Clase’s pitches allegedly made $400,000 in total winnings, while Ortiz made $60,000.
Days after the announcement (and with betting activity done for the season), the MLB announced a cap on pitch-level wagers of $200. These bets also can’t be parlayed with others, where risk and rewards increase with each make-or-break leg that’s added.
“By limiting the ability to place large wagers on micro-prop bets, Major League Baseball is taking affirmative steps to protect the integrity of the game and reduce the incentives to participate in improper betting schemes,” DeWine said in a statement at the time.
“I urge other sports leagues to follow Major League Baseball’s example with similar action.”
The NBA didn’t respond to inquiries.
Sports betting scandals in Ohio and beyond
Clase and Ortiz were the first two professional athletes known to have been implicated in alleged crimes in connection with otherwise legal sports betting.
However, a growing list of collegiate and professional athletes had already been accused of simlar conduct, usually via the leagues themselves.
Some come with Ohio ties.
Brendan Sorsby, a quarterback who played for the Cincinnati Bearcats last year, has been effectively blacklisted from the NCAA and NFL this season amid suspicion about his betting habits, including on his prior team at Indiana University, The Athletic reported.
University of Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon was fired in 2023 in connection with suspicious bets he placed while at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, according to the Associated Press.
In 2025, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Damon Jones were among 34 people charged in connection with sports betting-related charges. (Ohio man Deniro Laster, an alleged accomplice and friend of Rozier’s, had his bond revoked last week in the case.)
Since then, more current and former NBA players have been indicted in the probe.
There’s still time before the start of regular season football for Ohio, the NFL and the sportsbooks to reach a deal. Don’t bet on it.