MLBPA Proposes Nationwide Ban on Player Prop Bets: What It Means for Sportsbooks and Bettors

The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is taking a bold stance against player prop bets, reportedly seeking a nationwide ban on wagers tied to individual players. The proposal, which would cover both retail and online sportsbooks as well as federally regulated prediction markets, marks a significant escalation in the union’s efforts to protect athletes from harassment and exploitation.

The push comes as the MLBPA and Major League Baseball (MLB) negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), set to replace the current contract expiring on December 1. Early talks have already revealed the players’ union’s intent to form a lobbying alliance with MLB to push for the ban, targeting prop bets like wagers on a batter’s home run potential or a pitcher’s strikeout count.

Prop bets have long been criticized for contributing to the harassment faced by professional athletes, both on and off the field. While the NCAA has successfully pushed for restrictions on college player props in 15 states, professional sports—including MLB—have largely avoided similar bans. The union’s proposal now seeks to change that, though the path to a nationwide ban is fraught with legal and political challenges.

Congress would need to intervene to impose a blanket ban on player props, given the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Murphy v. NCAA, which affirmed states’ rights to regulate sports betting. While the federal government retains authority over prediction markets regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a nationwide ban on state-regulated sportsbooks would require congressional action—and the political appetite for such intervention remains slim.

Efforts to pass federal sports betting legislation, such as the SAFE Bet Act and the PROTECT Student Athletes Act, have stalled in recent years. The SAFE Bet Act, introduced by Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), has yet to advance past committee stages, while the PROTECT Act, led by Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), focuses specifically on college athlete props.

‘Prop bets have been blamed for much of the harassment professional and student-athletes receive on and off the field,’ reads an ESPN report on the matter. The union’s proposal, if successful, could set a precedent for other sports leagues to follow, though the legal and political hurdles remain substantial.