MLB Pitch-Rigging Trial Opens With Catcher Testimony as Congress and Ohio Pursue Fresh Wagering Measures
The MLB pitch-rigging trial of Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz opened with Bo Naylor testifying the pitches showed nothing unusual. A House subcommittee hearing on sports gambling on college campuses is set for Wednesday while Ohio Sen. Bill DeMora will reintroduce prediction market legislation in 2027. These reflect ongoing regulatory and judicial focus on wagering tied to sports.
SCCG Take — The developments tighten the regulatory lens on prediction markets and sports integrity. Operators must track shifting legal definitions to adjust compliance and market strategies in key jurisdictions.
The pitch-rigging trial of MLB pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz began this week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Former Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor testified he observed nothing unusual about the pitches now at issue. Naylor caught 14 of Luis Ortiz's 16 games in 2025 and seven of the 18 alleged rigged pitches thrown by Emmanuel Clase.
Naylor appeared out of order due to upcoming wedding travel to Italy. He is one of three former Guardians catchers on the defense witness list. Defense counsel argues the pitches formed part of normal game strategy rather than predetermined signals for bettors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Urquiola described the pitchers as cheaters who sold their pitches. Co-defendant Luis Arismendy Paca Méndez is alleged to have served as liaison to the bettors. The trial is expected to last into early December.
Legislators Intensify Review of Sports Wagering and Prediction Markets
The U.S. House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development scheduled a hearing titled "The Rise of Sports Gambling on College Campuses" for 10:15 a.m. Wednesday. Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah chairs the panel. Owens played college football at Miami and was a first-round NFL draft pick in 1973. Congress has held a handful of hearings on sports betting since late 2024 to explore possible federal guidance.
In Ohio, state Sen. Bill DeMora told SBC Americas he will reintroduce bills in 2027 to add prediction markets to the definition of sports betting and ban election betting. "Even our Republican governor said that these things are sports gambling," DeMora said. "I agree with him. We need to regulate them and start taxing them like we're doing with sports betting." Ohio remains in litigation with Kalshi after the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in September that the state may enforce its gambling laws on the platform.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who signed sports betting into law in December 2021 but has since soured on the sector, is term-limited. Democrat Amy Acton will succeed him. According to InGame reporting, William Hill also received Nevada Gaming Control Board approval to add race and sports wagering at three Terrible's properties, pending Nevada Gaming Commission consent on November 19.
These proceedings show sustained official attention to the lines between sports integrity and wagering products. Regulators and operators face continued pressure to adapt as definitions and enforcement standards evolve at both federal and state levels.
Gaming, betting and prediction markets — the desk’s read, every weekday.
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