An Ohio man was banned from wagering on sports for threatening the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.
- Ohio commissioners said Blake Morgan can’t use retail or online sportsbooks.
- Morgan made the threats after a 2025 World Series game.
- Morgan is banned from all league stadiums and facilities indefinitely.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) approved on Wednesday a final order to place Blake Morgan on the state’s involuntary gaming exclusion list and bar him from using retail or online sportsbooks in Ohio.
Morgan has 15 days to file an appeal notice with the commission.
Morgan allegedly made “harassing and threatening statements” about Toronto’s John Schneider on an MLB customer service call after Game 3 of the 2025 World Series between the Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to the OCCC.
Morgan called MLB to complain about a video of Schneider discussing pitching to Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani in future games, and his threats of violence or harm were recorded by customer service. MLB investigated and banned Morgan from all league stadiums and facilities indefinitely on Oct. 30, 2025.
Breaking the rules
The OCCC states in its rules that the regulator “may include any person on the sports gaming exclusion list who before, during, or after a sporting event, threatens violence or harm against any person who is involved in the sporting event, where the threat is related to sports gaming, or whose participation in the play of sports gaming poses a threat to the interests of the state, to achieving intents and purposes.”
After Ohio regulators informed Morgan of the commission’s intent to place him on the exclusion list, he requested a hearing and provided several objections against the Ohio sports betting ban, including a video that Morgan claimed was different from the video he called MLB about after Game 3.
Morgan also said an MLB investigator told Morgan that he faced no further action before receiving the OCCC’s notice, “including presumably the commission’s action to place Morgan on the involuntary exclusion list.” The commission said there was no evidence of that conversation, and even if there was, it has an “independent statutory responsibility” to protect gaming integrity in the state.
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Taking action
Harassment of athletes from sports bettors has been on the rise since PASPA was overturned in 2018. Most recently, the majority of MLB players participating in a survey said they have received abuse over lost wagers.
Several players have reported threatening social media messages and requests to pay for bets that didn’t win. Pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. hired security to protect his family after a disgruntled overseas bettor sent him death threats last year.
MLB was part of a coalition of U.S. sports leagues that sent letters to state regulators and lawmakers last month, requesting the adoption of safeguards to better protect players from harassment, which include lifetime bans for threatening those associated with games.
“Too often, individuals who lose sports bets direct threatening and harassing messages toward players, coaches, and their families via social media and in-person interactions,” the group said in the letter. “Threatening the safety of an athlete or their family members over a sports bet crosses a bright ethical and criminal line, and it is entirely unacceptable.”
