Ohio’s top gambling regulator has barred licensed sports books in the state from accepting bets on Alabama baseball games after a report that warned of suspicious gambling activity.
Matthew Schuler, executive 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, also said that one of the state’s “certified independent integrity monitors” notified the state about the wagers.
Sports betting is legal in 33 states, and it wasn’t immediately clear whether any other states had issued similar orders.
“We are continuing to look into the matter,” Ohio’s commission spokesperson Jessica Franks said Tuesday.
ESPN reported that Las-Vegas based U.S. Integrity sent out an alert to sportsbooks warning of “suspicious wagering activity” involving Friday night’s Alabama-LSU game. Alabama scored five runs in the ninth inning of an 8-6 loss on LSU, which was ranked No. 1 in the major college baseball polls while Alabama was unranked.
Officials with U.S. Integrity, LSU and Alabama did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. The NCAA said in a statement it was aware of the situation and “actively gathering additional information.”
