NBA gambling scandal sparks microbet examinations

By Pat Evans, iGB

MLB is reportedly pushing to ban microbets, while New Jersey legislators propose prohibiting them and Congressman Paul Tonko calls for league support of national safeguards following the recent NBA gambling scandal.

Some lawmakers and leagues are narrowing their focus on microbets following the recent NBA gambling scandal.

Multiple federal lawmakers urged bans on prop bets following FBI arrests last month tied to a gambling scheme involving NBA games, but others are now taking a more nuanced approach. Major League Baseball is reportedly working to eliminate microbets, while a New Jersey lawmaker recently proposed a ban on the bet type.

Meanwhile, US Representative Paul Tonko of New York sent a letter to professional league commissioners asking for support of his SAFE Bet Act, which includes a prohibition of AI use to create microbets.

Microbets are specific prop bets that occur throughout a sporting event, for instance whether a pitch will be a ball or a strike or who scores on a team’s next possession in a game.

MLB pursuing microbet ban?

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine told the Columbus Dispatch last week that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is working with the other leagues to pursue a ban on microbets. DeWine said Manfred’s office told him there was agreement with all but one sports betting company, according to the report.

“These micro prop bets are just very dangerous,” DeWine told the Dispatch. “They’re really a great threat to the integrity of sports. And they can occur in baseball, but they can also occur in other sports as well. And they do occur in other sports as well.”

DeWine called for a microbet ban this summer. That followed the suspension of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase as part of a gambling investigation.

DeWine said he would wait to hear back from MLB before urging further state regulatory action against the bet type. Last year, the Ohio Casino Control Commission banned college prop bets after NCAA President Charlie Baker began campaigning for the prohibition.

New Jersey microbet ban proposed

New Jersey State Senator Paul Moriarty last week introduced S4794, which aims to ban microbets. It is a similar bill to Assemblyman Dan Hutchison’s AB5971, which was introduced in July.

Moriarty’s bill adds fines for operators who offer microbets. The bill defines a microbet as:

“A proposition bet which is wagered live, while a sport or athletic event is ongoing and concerns the outcome of the next play or action occurring in the sport or athletic event.”

Operators would be fined “not less than $500 and not more than $1,000 per offence”.

Hutchinson told CBS Philadelphia he is not against sports betting, but that this proposal is to stop “excessive and impulsive gambling”.

Tonko pushes for SAFE Bet Act support following NBA gambling scandal

Tonko first introduced the SAFE Bet Act last year and reintroduced it this year with Senator Richard Blumenthal. Included in the SAFE Bet Act is a ban on the use of AI to create gambling products, including microbets.

Last week, Tonko sent letters to multiple major professional sports leagues “demanding they support implementing federal gambling safety standards”.

“Claims of prioritising integrity ring hollow when leagues have sold credibility to gambling operators, integrated betting content into broadcasts, normalised wagering for teenagers, glorified it in advertising, and then failed to prevent criminal conduct from taking hold within the sport,” the letter read.

“The choice before you is now explicit. Either engage directly with Congress to establish mandatory federal guardrails that restore integrity and protect the public or stand in opposition and accept responsibility when the next scandal breaks and more families and lives are destroyed.”

The letters were sent to:

• Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred

• Major League Soccer Commissioner Donald Garber

• National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver

• National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell

• National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman

• National Women’s Soccer League Commissioner Jessica Berman

• Women’s National Basketball Association Commissioner Cathy Englebert

  
  

A House committee requested a briefing from Silver following the NBA gambling arrests. A Senate committee asked the NBA to produce information related to internal gambling investigations by 10 November.

The SAFE Bet Act includes creating federal standards for sports betting, including:

• No sportsbook marketing during live sporting events.

• No programming designed to induce gambling, like “bonus,” “no sweat” or odds boosts.

• Prohibition of operators accepting more than five deposits in a 24-hour period.

• Requirement that operators perform “affordability checks” on customers.

• Prohibition on using AI to track players’ gambling habits and offer individualised offers.

• A ban on collegiate and amateur prop bets.

• Requirement that the surgeon general report on public health challenges related to sports betting.