- The MLB Players Association (MLBPA) is seeking a ban on prop bets for individual players, such as bets for a player to hit a home run.
- This proposal comes from the same MLBPA that partnered with Hard Rock Bet in late April and are also looking to allow athletes to endorse sportsbooks and prediction markets.
- The proposed ban seeks to limit athlete harassment, but attempting to score betting partnerships for the same athletes under scrutiny from bettors is a questionable request.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) wants all the financial benefits of sports betting without any of the negatives. Thursday’s proposal requests a ban on prop betting for individual players, while also asking the MLB if players can endorse and get sponsored by sports betting sites and prediction markets.
Player props have long been the most controversial betting markets due to them being the easiest markets to manipulate, as well as causing the most harassment to players from losing bettors. From that standpoint, the MLBPA’s proposal to ban prop bets makes sense.
What doesn’t make sense is the MLBPA’s request to MLB for clarity on if players can endorse sportsbooks and prediction markets, while simultaneously requesting lighter punishment for players under betting investigations. If the MLBPA wants to protect the players from harassment by proposing a player prop ban, why would they also seek sponsorships from sportsbooks and prediction markets?
MLBPA’s Ridiculous Proposal Raises Questions Over Integrity
This isn’t the first questionable move from the MLBPA. In late April, the MLBPA partnered with Hard Rock Bet, granting the sportsbook access to player name, image, and likeness across their betting markets.
In the partnership news release, it states that “player headshots are live across the app, embedded within player profiles and betting markets. The addition makes the platform more intuitive, visually engaging, and easier for fans to navigate.” The MLBPA is going from allowing player faces on prop betting markets at Hard Rock Bet to wanting these markets completely gone in less than two months.
