Report: MLB Union Steps to the Plate Against Player Prop Bets

Posted on: June 26, 2026, 11:58h. 

Last updated on: June 26, 2026, 11:58h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • The Major League Baseball Players Association is reportedly seeking a nationwide ban on player prop bets
  • The proposal would cover retail and online sportsbooks, as well as federally regulated sports prediction markets
  • Similar federal sports betting bills have struggled to gain traction, making the MLBPA’s effort an uphill battle

The Major League Baseball Association (MLBPA) is reportedly seeking to ban sportsbooks across the country from being allowed to offer player prop bets involving its members.

MLB player prop bets sportsbooks
Oakland A’s closer Mason Miller delivers a pitch against Kansas City Royals batter Bobby Witt Jr. on June 18, 2024, at the Oakland Coliseum in California. The Major League Baseball Players Association wants player props banned on sportsbooks and prediction markets. (Image: Shutterstock)

The MLBPA and Major League Baseball are negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that will replace the current labor contract, which expires Dec. 1. The talks are early, with both sides only exchanging initial proposals.

ESPN reports that the players’ union is seeking to form a lobbying alliance with MLB to ban player prop bets at retail sportsbooks, online sportsbooks, and on federally regulated sports prediction market exchanges. Prop bets include wagers on a single player’s performance, like whether a batter will hit a home run or a pitcher’s number of strikeouts.

Prop bets have been blamed for much of the harassment professional and student-athletes receive on and off the field.

The NCAA has for years been asking state lawmakers and gaming regulators to prohibit such bets involving college sports. Today, 15 sports betting states prohibit player props in college sports, though most continue to allow single-player wagers on professional sports, including the MLB.

MLBPA Ask Faces Long Odds

For a nationwide ban on MLB player props, Congress would need to intervene.

The federal government has oversight of prediction markets, since they’re regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and therefore imposing a blanket ban on player props is feasible. As for excluding player props from state-regulated sportsbooks, the legal task would be more difficult.

In its landmark May 2018 decision in Murphy (Christie) v. NCAA, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress cannot commandeer states by prohibiting 49 of them from authorizing single-game sports betting while exempting another (Nevada) from the same restriction. The ruling gave states the freedom to determine their legality on sports betting.

However, Congress retained the constitutional authority to regulate sports betting should it wish.

But since 2018, there’s been little appetite in DC for such federal control. Any congressional bill to regulate sports betting would also presumably be met with a myriad of state lawsuits.

Federal Sports Betting Bill

The legal sports gaming industry has strongly pushed back against federal legislation to intervene in state sports betting.

Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) filed the Supporting Affordability & Fairness With Every Bet Act in 2024, 2025, and 2026. Known as the SAFE Bet Act, the federal bill, House Resolution 2087, has yet to clear a House committee.

The Providing Responsible Oversight and Transparency and Ensuring Collegiate Trust Student Athletes Act, or PROTECT Student Athletes Act, has met a similar fate. Led by US Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), the bill proposes a nationwide ban on player props involving college athletes.