Ohio's gambling oversight agency involved in Guardians probe

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The agency that oversees sports gambling in Ohio says it is working with Major League Baseball on the investigation of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, but had no further comment.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission said it was notified on June 30 by an Ohio licensed sportsbook of suspicious wagering activity on Guardians wagering events before also being contacted by MLB.

The commission conducted an independent investigation in 2023 when there was suspicious wagering activity on the University of Alabama's baseball team.

The commission's next meeting is on Aug. 20. Gov. Mike DeWine has asked the commission to ban player-specific micro bets. Ortiz is being investigated for two pitches thrown by the right-hander that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting-integrity firm and forwarded to MLB.

"The evidence that prop betting is harming athletics in Ohio is reaching critical mass. First, there were threats on Ohio athletes, and now two high-profile Ohio professional athletes have been suspended by Major League Baseball as part of a 'sports betting investigation,'" DeWine said in a statement on July 31. "The harm to athletes and the integrity of the game is clear, and the benefits are not worth the harm. The prop betting experiment in this country has failed badly."

Ohio is one of 16 states that does not allow prop bets on college sports athletes.

Clase and Ortiz are on non-disciplinary paid leave through Aug. 31.

It was unclear if the cases are related.