MLBPA Seeking Player Prop Ban as Part of New CBA
David Genge Published 15/07/2026
The Major League Baseball Players' Association (MLBPA) is seeking a complete ban on player prop bets as part of ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement discussions with Major League Baseball (MLB). The union seeks to have all wagers on individual player performance offered at betting sites, such as home runs, strikeouts, and pitch counts, eliminated at sportsbooks. The ban would include sportsbooks, daily fantasy sites, and prediction markets.
MLB has told the MLBPA that it will be responding to this proposal at some point during negotiations as talks between the two sides advance. The belief is that a prop bet ban will halt the abuse players take from disgruntled gamblers.
MLBPA says that prop betting is leading to the harassment of MLB players
According to an ESPN report, the MLBPA suggested a prohibition on prop betting at sportsbooks. This would be accomplished through a joint lobbying effort between the league and the union. Daily fantasy operators and event contracts at prediction markets that involve individual player performance would also be banned.
MLBPA officials insist that players are subject to increasing online harassment from disgruntled bettors who lose a wager on a specific player.
Popular MLB player props include over/unders on hits by batters and strikeouts by pitchers. Whether or not a player will hit a home run is another common baseball prop play. Prop bets are very lucrative wagers. They can account for anywhere from 20% to 30% of the total amount wagered on an MLB game.
Baseball's current CBA is set to expire on December 1. Talks on a new CBA are in the very early stages, with both sides exchanging proposals.
MLB has already modified prop bets to some extent
When a betting scandal involving two Cleveland Guardians pitchers rocked baseball, MLB officials and U.S. legal and regulated sports betting sites came to an agreement to put limits in place for a form of prop betting known as microbetting.
In November, Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were charged with fraud, conspiracy, and bribery. The charges stemmed from an alleged scheme to rig individual pitches thrown by the two pitchers. According to federal prosecutors, the outcomes of those pitches resulted in gamblers winning hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"The defendants deprived the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball of their honest services," Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, said in a statement. "They defrauded the online betting platforms where the bets were placed. And they betrayed America's pastime."
Following this scandal, MLB requested and was able to obtain from online sportsbooks a $250 limit on first-pitch prop bets. First-pitch prop bets are also prohibited from being included in parlays and same-game parlays at the majority of sportsbooks. This was also done per MLB's request.
MLBPA seeking to have it both ways?
While seeking a ban on prop bets from online sportsbooks, MLBPA negotiators are also looking to increase the opportunities for their players to work more closely with betting sites. They want players to be able to negotiate sponsorship and endorsement deals with legal betting sites. The current CBA prohibits players from authorizing the use of their name, uniform number, image, or likeness "to advertise, promote or encourage betting on (for or against) any baseball game or event."
The MLBPA is also asking that MLB grant permission for players under suspension for sports betting violations to go on 15-day, unpaid rehabilitation assignments in the minor leagues near the end of their suspension.
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