Background
In May 2018, the Supreme Court struck down a federal prohibition on sports gambling. This ruling provided an opportunity for online betting sites to secure a major piece of the sports business, and they’ve capitalized on that opportunity. Online sportsbooks have made gambling more accessible than it has ever been. As a result, American participation and investment in gambling has drastically increased. In 2025, around 90% of all bets are made online, and more than half of those bets are placed live. Furthermore, annual American wagers on sports have grown by $145 billion since the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2018. This explosion in legalized sports gambling has not only changed how fans engage with games, but it has also given professional athletes an unprecedented ability to earn extra profit from their insider positions. But as we have recently learned, attempting to cash in on that ability can result in serious criminal consequences.
In November 2025, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz as conspirators in an alleged scheme to manipulate individual pitches in games for the benefit of bettors. The Clase and Ortiz case has raised significant questions about the reach of federal wire-fraud and bribery laws, the challenges of proving that athletes have violated those laws, and whether the integrity of professional sports can survive today’s gambling environment.
The Allegations
According to the indictment brought in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Clase and Ortiz conspired with bettors to rig prop bets on specific pitches. Prosecutors allege that Clase began providing the bettors with information about the type and speed of specific pitches he would throw in games in May 2023. After providing the information, Clase would often hold up his end of the deal by throwing a pitch of a certain speed in the dirt, ensuring that his bettors would win their prop bets. As the scheme went on, Clase allegedly began to receive bribes and kickbacks for his participation.
Ortiz’s involvement, according to prosecutors, began in June 2025 after Clase recruited him to join the scheme. Ortiz allegedly agreed to throw first-pitch balls in certain innings in exchange for payments ranging from $5,000 to $7,000. According to prosecutors, Clase also received payments for arranging the bets that Ortiz took part in.
The indictment claims that Clase and Ortiz’s actions allowed bettors to win at least $450,000.
Applicable Law: Charges and Potential Penalties
The indictment brings four felony charges against both Clase and Ortiz: wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery. Under these counts, each defendant could face up to 65 years in prison: up to 20 years each for the wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy counts, and an additional 5 years for conspiracy to influence sporting events by bribery.
Wire fraud charges are commonly employed in sports betting cases, as any use of phones, internet, or electronic communication to further an illegal gambling scheme can constitute a federal offense. But the use of the honest services doctrine is new to the sports gambling issue, as it has mainly been used in public corruption prosecutions in the past. Moreover, there is statutory authority for the bribery charges, as The Sports Bribery Act of 1964 asserts that the carrying out of schemes to influence sporting contests through bribery is a federal crime.
Clase and Ortiz’s Possible Defenses
Both Clase and Ortiz have plead not guilty to all charges. Both of their lawyers are adamant that the players are innocent, with Ortiz’s counsel stating that, “the government’s case is weak and circumstantial” and “the indictment completely lacks any alleged evidence connecting Luis to these alleged bettors or demonstrating any purposeful involvement in a scheme.” Moreover, Ortiz’s attorney maintains that all of his client’s payments to individuals in the Dominican Republic were for lawful purposes.
Prosecution’s Challenges
A case based on the rigging of specific pitches presents unique challenges for the prosecution. Unlike deliberately throwing a game or shaving points in basketball, proving that a pitcher intentionally manipulated specific pitches will likely require detailed analysis of performance data, probative communications evidence, and testimony from cooperating witnesses.
Federal prosecutors will likely rely on a combination of betting records showing unusual activity, communications between the players and bettors, and expert testimony from baseball analysts who can identify statistical anomalies in the performances of each pitcher. In doing so, the government must prove that Clase and Ortiz intended to benefit the bettors and that the bettors’ wins were caused by that intentional conduct.
Conclusion
Regardless of the result of each of their cases, the allegations against Clase and Ortiz will affect the relationship between professional athletics and legalized sports betting by influencing how professional leagues structure their gambling rules and integrity protections. For example,
the MLB has already announced a new rule for prop bets that limits wagers on specific pitches to $200 and excludes such wagers from parlays.
Sources
Alyssa Spady, Cleveland Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase arrested at JFK airport, pleads not guilty in pitch rigging case, CBS NEWS (Nov. 13, 2025 5:37 PM).
Isaac Rose-Berman, The rise of sports betting is a growing public health crisis, STAT10 (Nov. 11, 2025).
Jack Queen, Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase pleads not guilty to bet-rigging charges, REUTERS (Nov. 13, 2025 5:15 PM).
Jeff Passan, Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz indicted for pitch rigging, ESPN (Nov. 9, 2025 1:56 PM).
Michael R. Sisak, MLB pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Oritz charged with taking bribes to rig pitches for bettors, ASSOCIATED PRESS (Nov. 11, 2025 1:54 PM).
Philip Marcelo, Cleveland pitcher Emmanuel Clase pleads not guilty to federal charges alleging he rigged pitches, ASSOCIATED PRESS (Nov. 13, 2025 4:09 PM).
Two Current Major League Baseball Players Charged in Sports Betting and Money Laundering Conspiracy, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK (Nov. 9, 2025).