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Report: MLBPA includes prop restriction in latest labor negotiation proposal

Legal Writer

Publish Date: Jun 29, 2026

Fact checked by: Matt Moreno

Key Points

Report states that union asked league to push for bans on prop bets and contracts covering individual athlete performances
Request reportedly cites player abuse as motivation for inclusion in negotiations
MLB/MLBPA would need regulatory/lawmaker action to affect policy

Multiple sources have reported that the Major League Baseball Players Association has asked Major League Baseball to work with it to pressure governments and regulators to restrict trading and wagering activity related to the performances of individual players during games. The association reportedly believes doing so would help cut down on abusive interactions that its members experience connected to the activity in question.

While many state gambling laws allow sport governing bodies to request that certain wagers be restricted, the law is less clear on that privilege around an entire category. For prediction market exchanges, the path to submitting such a request is simpler, but the latest draft rules for the exchanges suggest that would represent a significant change.

Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium on March 31, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

(Photo by Ryan Sirius Sun/Getty Images)

MLBPA wants MLB assistance in lobbying for prop bet restrictions

Jeff Passan and David Purdum, both of ESPN, were the first to report these details of ongoing labor contract negotiations between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). The request reportedly covers prop betting at sportsbooks and contract trading on prediction market exchanges connected to individual athlete actions, such as whether a next pitch will be a strike or whether a specific player will hit a home run during a certain game.

There is a formal procedure in many U.S. states plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., for sports governing bodies to request that certain wagers be restricted. Such procedures are in place to address integrity concerns, but there are no laws or regulations stating that is the only reason for which bodies like MLB can submit such petitions.

Regulators can order licensed sportsbooks to remove affected markets in most jurisdictions based on such requests. However, regulatory bodies are not required to respond affirmatively to those petitions.

There is a separate route for limiting prop trades on prediction market exchanges. There has already been some action on the issue, too.

CFTC would need to amend rules to acquiesce with request

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates prediction market exchanges. The CFTC has filed draft rules that govern trading on those platforms, and the rules might restrict some prop contracts.

The proposed rules ban “discrete-action” contracts. That term includes contracts tied to actions which a single individual, like an MLB player, has the ability to heavily influence.

However, whether that potential rule would ban all trading of contracts tied to individual athletes’ performance will depend on the adjudication of the text. That is, of course, should the rule become final in its current form.

Modification would be necessary for the CFTC to definitively ban all contracts connected to MLB players’ performances. The league could lean on its partnerships to affect the change as well.

MLB has relationships with exchanges and sportsbooks

MLB has some form of working partnership with most companies that operate licensed sportsbooks in the United States. These partnerships include licensing deals and sponsorships.

MLB also has a memorandum of understanding with Kalshi, the most prominent prediction market exchange in the U.S. In addition to lobbying governments to ban prop contracts/wagers, MLB could pressure operators to curtail the markets voluntarily.

The MLBPA wants its members to endure less harassment connected to trading and wagering on their performances. However, it also wants its members to profit financially from that activity.

MLBPA asks for repeal of betting endorsement rules

Current league rules prohibit players from working as spokespeople for gambling companies. Passan and Purdum also report that the MLBPA has communicated that it would like to see that rule lifted.

Currently, no U.S. jurisdiction bans such promotions. Governing bodies like the Massachusetts Gaming Commission have considered rules that would restrict the use of celebrities including athletes in marketing materials, though.

Gambling companies have nearly exclusively worked with former athletes to promote their sportsbooks to avoid concerns about the integrity of competitions. That practice could continue even if MLB changes its rules on players endorsing gambling companies.

Most MLB franchises have sponsorship deals with multiple gambling companies, so the MLBPA is trying to get a cut of that money for its members. While MLB and the MLBPA have much to deliberate over regarding a new contract, collaboration on actions against prop markets reportedly will be part of the discussion.

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