Only a near-miniscule fraction of bettors wager on spring training baseball. Apparently Major League Baseball wants to see that number reduced to zero.
According to David Purdum of ESPN, MLB submitted a request to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) asking it to prohibit betting on Spring Training games at the state’s sportsbooks. But the NGCB declined Major League Baseball’s request.
It’s unknown at this time if MLB made the same request to New Jersey regulators or in other states. Sportsbooks in New Jersey and West Virginia are also accepting wagers on spring training games. MLB remains a part owner of DraftKings Sportsbook which, in New Jersey, is taking bets on MLB Spring Training games. They did, however, reach out to Pennylvania and the state’s Gaming Control Board asked sportsbooks to stop taking bets on spring training games until they review MLB’s request.
According to Purdham’s report, the NGCB wrote in response to MLB: “Based on our history and experience in regulating sports wagering, we are not inclined to prohibit our licensed sports books from taking wagers on MLB Spring Training games. We have a common goal to combat sports bribery and maintain the integrity of your sport, and are available to discuss ways we can work together in this effort.”
There’s that word ‘Integrity’ again
MLB used the word “integrity” when referencing why it made the request. MLB claims spring training games carry “heightened integrity risks,” because players don’t necessarily give maximum effort and the league is worried about the risk becoming greater with sports betting expanding to more states.
Some have speculated that MLB is setting the table for future “integrity fees,” where the league gets a percentage of state’s total sports wagering handle. There are a couple of issues here with MLB’s reasoning. First, limits at Nevada sportsbooks on Spring Training games are low. It’s not like you can walk into a casino and bet $50,000 on a Texas Rangers split-squad scrimmage game.
The biggest issue, though, is MLB and other leagues acting like offshore sportsbooks don’t exist and haven’t flourished in the 20-plus years that the federal ban on sports wagering outside Nevada existed. Nevada has been prohibited from offering certain things for years and that hasn’t stopped bettors from wagering on them. Popular Super Bowl props like the length of the National Anthem and color of Gatorade have never been offered in Nevada and people have bet on them for years, because offshore sportsbooks exist and anyone can get an account, so they continue to benefit.
Offshore sportsbooks take bets on spring training games, so if Nevada stopped doing it, it won’t make a bit of difference. The request is dishonest at best by MLB and likely a table setter to something it actually wants, perhaps the “integrity fee” from some gullible state, or more likely, a requirement on sportsbooks to purchase “official league data” from the pro sports leagues.
It’s unknown if MLB has previously made this Spring Training request to the NGCB. This isn’t the first year Nevada sportsbooks are offering lines on spring training games. It’s just now that MLB has a direct pathway to monetize sports betting, it’s looking to make some hay at every turn.