Ohio commission prohibits sports wagering on Alabama baseball
Ohio Casino Control Commission Executive Director Matthew T. Schuler issued an emergency order on Monday to the state’s sports gaming licensees that prohibited the acceptance of any wagers placed on Alabama‘s baseball team, effective immediately. An Ohio Casino Control Commission spokesperson provided a copy of the emergency order to On3.
“The Ohio Casino Control Commission has received reports from one of its certified independent integrity monitors regarding wagers made on University of Alabama Baseball,” Schuler wrote in the emergency order. “In response to these reports, I am issuing an emergency order to licensees under Ohio Adm. Code 3775-11-01(E)(2), prohibiting the acceptance of any wagers on University of Alabama Baseball effective immediately. Any wagers placed on an incomplete sporting event that has had wagering suspended through the issuance of an emergency order must be voided in accordance with Chapter 3775-11-01(F).”
ESPN first reported that the sports integrity monitoring firm U.S. Integrity alerted the Ohio Casino Control Commission of suspicious wagering activity that allegedly occurred at the BetMGM Sportsbook at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on the Alabama-LSU baseball game played last Friday. No. 1 LSU won 8-6 in the first game of a three-game series in which the Tigers swept the Crimson Tide.
LSU led 7-1 through seven innings before Alabama scored one run in the eighth inning and four runs in the top of the ninth inning.
On Thursday, May 4, Alabama announced it “initiated the termination process” for baseball coach Brad Bohannon for “among other things, violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of University employees.”
“BetMGM is committed to the integrity of sports wagering across all online and retail platforms,” a BetMGM spokesperson said in a statement provided to On3 Wednesday morning. “We work closely with our suspicious activity monitoring provider, US Integrity, regulatory bodies, and law enforcement when necessary. We’re actively working with the OCCC on this incident and won’t be providing additional commentary at this time.”
ESPN reported FanDuel also “removed Alabama baseball games from its betting menu in all jurisdictions as a precautionary measure.”
“We didn’t take any bets on this game and pulled it off our platform out of an abundance of caution,” FanDuel director of communications Alex Pitocchelli wrote in an email to On3.
At the time of publishing, U.S. Integrity hasn’t provided a follow-up comment in response to a phone call seeking comment.
An Alabama spokesperson provided a statement in an email Tuesday evening that said, “Alabama Athletics became aware of this situation Monday evening and is actively seeking information about the report.”
The Crimson Tide has a 30-15 record after LSU swept Alabama. Alabama hosts Vanderbilt for a three-game series that starts Thursday, May 4.
Ohio legalized sports betting on Jan. 1, 2023
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine previously signed into law House Bill 29, which made legal sports betting at brick-and-mortar locations and online in Ohio on Jan. 1, 2023. Various forms of sports betting are legalized in 33 states, plus Washington, D.C.
A fiscal note and local impact statement from the Ohio Legislative Service Commission said, “Legalizing and taxing sports gaming will raise several tens of millions of dollars per year, once the program is fully operational and sports wagering markets mature.”
Last week during a webinar held by the LEAD1 Association, which represents athletic directors of the schools at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level, members of a panel said there’s a 100-percent chance of a sports wagering scandal within college athletics this decade, according to On3’s Eric Prisbell. Some panelists said there’s a chance it has already happened or it’s happening now but the scandal hasn’t been discovered.
Epic Risk Management head of delivery Mark Potter said, “The sheer amount of colleges there are, and the sheer amount of opportunities there are now, I would be almost certain that there will be something.”
U.S. Integrity president and founder Matt Holt was a member of the panel. He said institutional budgets could limit sports betting policies.
“It’s a real challenge for all collegiate campuses, that they do face sort of a crisis at a time when so many other issues have popped up, like NIL,” Holt said. “All these issues on a campus, they all cost money. How do you get the money to put forth toward these programs, which are so important? … Many of these ADs are faced with the budgetary restraints of which ones do we take, which ones are most important?”
This story has been updated with statements from Alabama and BetMGM, and to reflect Alabama’s termination of Brad Bohannon.