Wanna guess? If the wager concerned Shohei Ohtani, the reply from gamblers was sure extra typically than it was for some other participant in any sport final 12 months, in response to information from BetMGM.
When betting on sport leads to 2025, gamblers positioned probably the most wagers on NFL video games. Nevertheless, when betting on particular person athletes, gamblers positioned probably the most wagers on Ohtani, the two-way celebrity for the World Sequence champion Dodgers and Nationwide League most dear participant. Saquon Barkley, the working again for the Tremendous Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, ranked second.
That information thought-about solely BetMGM wagers that concerned particular person gamers — generally for awards similar to MVP, a spokesman stated, however most frequently for prop bets decided by particular person efficiency.
By means of instance from one other sportsbook, Caesars Sports activities supplied these World Sequence prop bets for Ohtani: Would he hit a leadoff residence run? Drive in no less than seven runs? Gather no less than 10 hits? Hit a 470-foot residence run? Hit no less than 5 residence runs? Ship a walk-off hit? Hit two residence runs and strike out 10 batters in the identical sport? Strike out 20 batters within the collection? (Ohtani didn’t do any of these eight issues.)
The most well-liked main leaguers past Ohtani amongst bettors, in response to BetMGM, all had been sluggers: Aaron Choose of the New York Yankees ranked second, adopted by Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds, Riley Greene of the Detroit Tigers and Bryce Harper of the Phillies.
But probably the most infamous MLB prop bets final 12 months concerned pitchers, not hitters.
In November, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz had been indicted on federal fees that they “rigged pitches” — that’s, they tipped bettors about whether or not they would throw a pitch exterior the strike zone in specified conditions and the way exhausting they’d throw it. Prosecutors say bettors received a whole lot of hundreds of {dollars} for themselves and paid Clase and Ortiz hundreds of {dollars} for his or her assist.
The pitchers have pleaded not responsible, with a trial scheduled for Could. Prosecutors instructed the courtroom final month that Clase, a three-time All-Star, possible would face 87 to 108 months in jail beneath federal sentencing pointers — that’s, as much as 9 years — if convicted on every of the 4 counts in his indictment.
The pitchers additionally face a possible lifetime ban from baseball. Clase, 27, is beneath contract for $6 million this 12 months; the Guardians maintain a $10-million possibility for 2027 and one other for 2028. Traders who pooled their cash to assist him in alternate for a share of his profession earnings are susceptible to dropping their funding.
The varieties of prop bets positioned on Clase and Ortiz could turn into even much less well-liked subsequent season.
On the day after Clase and Ortiz had been indicted, Main League Baseball introduced an settlement with sports activities ebook operators to cap such pitching prop bets at $200. The operators, MLB stated, represented “greater than 98% of the U.S. betting market.”
In its announcement, the league famous that almost all prop bets will not be solely influenced by one individual — that’s, whether or not Ohtani hits a house run relies upon in important half on how he’s pitched.
“Nevertheless, ‘micro-bet’ pitch-level markets (e.g., ball/strike; pitch velocity) current heightened integrity dangers as a result of they concentrate on one-off occasions that may be decided by a single participant and might be inconsequential to the end result of the sport,” the league assertion stated. “The chance on these pitch-level markets will likely be considerably mitigated by this new motion focused on the incentive to have interaction in misconduct.”
