Washington, D.C. – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01), Co-Chair of the Congressional Gaming Caucus, released the following statement after Major League Baseball announced it has suspended multiple players for violating the league’s sports betting policy. 

“As the oldest professional sports league in the United States, Major League Baseball has a long history of protecting the integrity of the game. The MLB has been at the forefront in educating major and minor league players about responsible gaming and the league’s policies surrounding sports betting. Not only do they require in-person education every season, but also provide English and Spanish language educational programming for players and employees at all levels.

I applaud MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s swift actions today and hope that all other leagues will follow his lead. Any player who bets on their own team should be permanently banned. Not only did Major League Baseball impose appropriately harsh punishments, following established rules concerning sports betting by players, but they also released detailed investigative findings that ensured the public that the games they chose to bet on were fair.

The legalized sports betting environment after 2018 enabled Major League Baseball to collaborate with operators and integrity monitors to detect these bets and assess the appropriate penalties. While the system worked as intended, the goal should be to continue to educate players and prevent these types of bets from being placed in the first place.”

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