With states legalizing sports betting and betting companies vying for advertising dollars, professional leagues have more visibility into the bets on their games than ever before. That includes partnerships with integrity firms that monitor the betting market and can catch when a player or team violates sports gambling rules. The NFL has also beefed up its in-house technology and is providing gambling training to players.
MLB and its teams are also taking steps to prevent gambling from affecting the game, such as banning players who gamble. The league has a rule against gambling that’s posted on dugout walls and is part of the collective bargaining agreement between the union and the league. If a player, umpire or club or league official is found to be gambling, they’re permanently banned from the sport. Those who have been banned from the game also are barred from entering the Baseball Hall of Fame, although most people who’ve been permanently banned from baseball have been reinstated years later by a different commissioner.
NCAA rules ban students-athletes from gambling on any sponsored events, including pro, college and amateur sports. However, those rules don’t specify where that gambling takes place. In California, there were two major propositions on the ballot that would have made sports betting legal in 2022. But the initiatives were voted down by voters. The state now allows online sports betting at its regulated casinos and offers an optional mobile app with wagering options.