The Major League Baseball Players Association is seeking to ban player props.
Key Takeaways
- The ban would include sportsbooks, daily fantasy sports operators, and prediction market platforms.
- No individual stat wagering would be allowed before or during games.
- 20% to 30% of a game’s handle reportedly comes from player props.
ESPN reported on Thursday that a players’ union source said the MLBPA suggested a joint pursuit with the league during collective bargaining agreement (CBA) talks to stop wagering on individual stats. The MLBPA believes the ban would alleviate harassment of players and social media abuse.
The suggested prohibition would affect the entire gaming and trading industry.
Sportsbooks wouldn’t be able to offer the popular prop markets, both before and during games. Daily fantasy sports operators would be included in the ban, and prediction markets wouldn’t be allowed to post contracts on individual props, according to the report.
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Massive request
Fueled by a higher house edge, player props account for 20% to 30% of the total amount wagered on a game, per ESPN, and over 70% of Same-Game Parlays include an individual stat market.
MLB players have been more outspoken in recent years about the abuse and harassment received from disgruntled bettors. In 2025, Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. received threats to his family from an overseas bettor who lost money.
Other players have said they had to stay off social media because of daily abuse from bettors, and one pitcher said a fan who lost money followed him home.
“It sucks, but it's the world we live in, and we can't do anything about it,” Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene said last year. “People would DM me and say nasty things, tell me how bad of a player I am, and say nasty stuff that we don't want to hear."
Can change happen?
Neither sportsbooks nor state regulators have responded to the MLBPA’s player prop ban proposal, but operators have agreed to remove some easy-to-manipulate markets in the past.
When Cleveland Guardians hurlers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were arrested and charged with taking bribes and rigging pitches to help two Dominican bettors last year, sportsbooks stopped offering pitch-level markets.
This MLBPA request is much more impactful.
The NBA was also able to get operators to pull prop markets on 10-day players after Jontay Porter was arrested and charged in a gambling scheme, but the league has discussed greater changes, especially after another scandal.
Former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier is currently facing federal bribery charges after he allegedly removed himself from a game early so a group of bettors and he could profit from the unders on his player props.
Fighting harassment
MLB’s proposal comes at a time when athlete harassment is at the forefront.
The NCAA has been fighting the battle to ban player props since 2024, urging all legal jurisdictions to stop offering them because of the harassment of athletes. Indiana regulators tabled a potential college player prop ban on Thursday after hearing from the NCAA.
Fanatics Sportsbook announced a new technology partnership on Thursday that will allow the operator to suspend or ban bettors who abuse athletes on social media.
Other gambling items
The MLBPA is also seeking other gambling changes in the latest CBA discussions. The players' union wants its members to be able to gain endorsements and sponsorships from sports betting operators and prediction market platforms, which is prohibited under the current CBA.
The MLBPA is also proposing that the league alter sports betting investigations. The union wants players who are caught violating the sports betting policy to go on a 15-day unpaid minor-league rehab assignment near the end of a suspension.
