Generally speaking, players, coaches and managers are barred from placing bets on their own teams. This includes futures (i.e. Denver Broncos O/U 57.5 Wins, Novak Djokovic O/U 6.0 Wins) and team and player prop bets. Players are also prohibited from asking someone to take a bet for them or offering a gift to an umpire or other official. Those who do violate the MLB rule face fines and/or suspension. Permanent bans from baseball are possible if officials bet on games during a postseason.
In the US, a number of states have legalized sports betting since PASPA’s repeal in February 2021. Those states include Nevada, which is widely regarded as the leader in legal sports betting, and New Hampshire, which launched in December 2021 with retail and online books from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars.
The NBA, NHL, and PGA Tour have all formed commercial agreements with sportsbook data providers, including Sportradar and Genius Sports, to supply them with official stats and other proprietary information. These relationships have expanded alongside the growth in legal sports wagering. But some leagues have begun lobbying lawmakers to mandate that they receive official data for all state-regulated sports bets, a move the American Gaming Association opposes.
Ultimately, operators and bettors will dictate how valuable official data is. And, in the end, a mandate will have a negative impact on the integrity lawmakers seek in legal sports betting. In addition, mandates could entangle bookmakers in contractual disputes with the leagues that result in higher prices for sports bettors.