The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has proposed banning prop bets on individual players as part of its collective bargaining agreement talks with MLB, according to an ESPN report.
It would mark one of the biggest pushes yet to restrict one of the most popular betting markets in legal sports betting. The proposal would cover pregame and in-game player props, including home run markets, and would also extend to prediction markets tied to individual player performance, according to Thursday’s report.
The MLB will hear the union’s proposal during their upcoming collective bargaining negotiations.
The move puts MLBPA on the same level as the NCAA, which has spent years urging regulators to eliminate player props in college sports because of harassment and integrity concerns.
It also raises a familiar industry warning: taking away a large chunk of legal wagering could send some of that business back to the offshore market the regulated industry was built to replace.
What MLBPA wants
MLBPA reportedly proposed a ban on prop betting on individual players to combat harassment from disgruntled gamblers.
The union also suggested a joint lobbying effort with MLB to pursue that prohibition across sportsbooks and daily fantasy operators. Under the MLBPA’s proposal, players subject to betting investigations would be placed on administrative leave with a 15-day unpaid rehab assignment in the minor leagues toward the end of the suspension.
The proposal comes after two Cleveland Guardians pitchers were indicted last year on charges related to an alleged pitch-rigging scheme.
NCAA already on this path
The NCAA has been on this issue for more than a year, arguing that college player props are a magnet for harassment and potential manipulation. NCAA president Charlie Baker has repeatedly urged states and regulators to ban props on college athletes, saying the bets invite pressure on players and degrade the integrity of competition.
That campaign has already produced results. Ohio, Louisiana, Maryland and Vermont have all removed college player props, and several other states already restrict or ban them in some form.
The NCAA has also renewed agreements that require certain bookmakers to drop individual-performance wagers if they want access to official data for tournament events.
Banning markets does not stop all betting
The industry offers a major counterargument that banning a large segment of bets from the legal market, especially popular player props like home runs and strikeouts, will push some of that action offshore, where consumers lose the protections of regulated books.
That was part of the American Gaming Association’s pushback in the NCAA debate, and it remains a central industry talking point now. If legal books cannot offer the bet, bettors can find another place to make it, whether that operation is licensed, taxed and supervised or not.
Legal sports betting was sold to states on a core promises like tax revenue and shutting down the black market for consumer safety. Eliminating a major category of legal wagers could weaken those goals if offshore operators are able to absorb the demand.
