Ohio regulators make decision about an SEC baseball team following ‘suspicious wagering activity’
By Keith Farner
Published:
Gambling related to an Alabama-LSU baseball game caused Ohio gambling regulators on Monday to instruct the state’s licensed sportsbooks to halt betting on college baseball games involving Alabama after suspicious wagering activity was detected on Friday.
The directive, issued by Ohio Casino Control Commission executive director Matthew T. Schuler and reported by ESPN, prohibits “the acceptance of any wagers on University of Alabama baseball effective immediately.” Legal sports betting in Ohio began on Jan. 1.
This came after a report from an independent integrity monitor. On Friday, U.S. Integrity, a Las Vegas-based firm that monitors the betting markets, issued an alert to its sportsbook clients regarding “suspicious wagering activity” involving the Alabama-LSU game.
A halt on wagering typically happens on a state-by-state basis because there isn’t a national regulator.
In the game, No. 1-ranked LSU led Alabama 8-1 after 7 innings and eventually won 8-6 in Baton Rouge. The Tigers were around -245 favorites over the Crimson Tide in the game in question, ESPN reported. LSU swept the series.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
