Playing regulator halts betting on Alabama baseball after ‘suspicious wagering activity’ alert

Ohio’s prime playing regulator has barred licensed sports books within the state from accepting bets on Alabama baseball video games after a report that warned of suspicious playing exercise.

Matthew Schuler, government director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, issued the emergency order on Monday “prohibiting the acceptance of any wagers on University of Alabama Baseball effective immediately.” The order was first reported by ESPN.

The order, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, additionally mentioned that one of many state’s “certified independent integrity monitors” notified the state in regards to the wagers.

Sports betting is authorized in 33 states, and it wasn’t instantly clear whether or not every other states had issued comparable orders.

“We are continuing to look into the matter,” Ohio’s fee spokesperson Jessica Franks mentioned Tuesday.

ESPN reported that Las-Vegas primarily based U.S. Integrity despatched out an alert to sportsbooks warning of “suspicious wagering activity” involving Friday evening’s Alabama-LSU sport. Alabama scored 5 runs within the ninth inning of an 8-6 loss on LSU, which was ranked No. 1 within the main school baseball polls whereas Alabama was unranked.

Officials with U.S. Integrity, LSU and Alabama didn’t instantly reply to requests for touch upon Tuesday. The NCAA mentioned in a press release it was conscious of the scenario and “actively gathering additional information.”

NCAA guidelines bar athletes and athletic staff from betting on video games “and from providing information to individuals involved in or associated with any type of sports wagering activities concerning intercollegiate, amateur or professional athletics competition.”

U.S. Integrity displays “data to see if discrepancies coincide with notable player or coaching events, reveal officiating abnormalities, or are indicative of the misuse of insider information,” in keeping with its web site.

Flagging wagers like this typically happen when there are large strikes within the odds on the final minute, notably in a sport the place one workforce is far more extremely ranked than the opposite, in keeping with California legal professional Baird Fogel, who has expertise working with the sports betting trade.

“In this instance, the line, I think, moved very dramatically and the game took a very odd turn where the inferior team started to make a huge run,” mentioned Fogel, co-head of the worldwide sports observe for Eversheds Sutherland. “This could all be conjecture, it could all be a coincidence. That’s the wonder of sports betting. Sometimes weird things happen.”

Fanduel Sportsbook didn’t have upcoming Alabama baseball video games listed for wagering on Tuesday.