Suspicious Alabama Baseball Betting: Ohio Pulls Program’s NCAA Lines

Red Flags At the Crimson Tide Baseball Scene

Ohio’s Sportsbooks Ban Alabama NCAA Baseball Games

Foul ball! The state of Ohio banned Alabama college baseball games due to “suspicious betting activity” involving a game against the LSU Tigers on Friday, April 28. The suspicious Alabama baseball betting led to some heavy action for the Tigers, which led to a victory for the Louisiana-based program. Looking into it, Alabama’s issues seems to have stemmed from its pitching.

The Wrong Pitch: Why Ohio Banned Alabama

Who’s pitching heavily affects baseball betting odds. Lead pitcher Luke Holman did not start for the Alabama Crimson Tide against the Tigers as originally scheduled. At the last minute, he got replaced by Hagan Banks and several sharp bettors caught wind of this critical baseball betting news and hammered the Tigers’ moneyline before the books could adjust.

LSU was posted at around -250 on the moneyline but should have been adjusted to around -300 given the change in pitchers. The Tigers won 8-6 as Banks gave up four runs in just 3.0 innings. Looking at the statistics, there isn’t much discrepancy between Holman and Banks. The former has a 5-2 record with 3.15 earned runs against average (ERA) and 0.99 walks/hits per innings pitched (WHIP) versus Banks’s 1-1 record with a 3.33 ERA and 0.81 WHIP.

While the outcome was indeed affected by the last-minute change in pitchers for Alabama, the issue may be a lack of experience among regulators in these recently-opened betting jurisdictions. While details of the wagers received in Ohio is still unknown, the regulators’ description of this suspicious Alabama baseball betting could also be normal steam coming on a last-minute pitching change in any baseball game.

“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,” said California attorney Baird Fogel, who is also the co-head of the global sports practice 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.”

Alabama Fans Out of Luck in the State of Ohio

Ohio stands alone (thus far) in banning Alabama Crimson Tide baseball betting momentarily. Matthew Schuler, executive director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, issued the emergency order on May 1. He “prohibited the acceptance of any wagers on the University of Alabama Baseball effective immediately” as first reported by ESPN.

Fans who look to betting baseball for Alabama are out of luck in the state. If other states follow suit, sportsbooks will not offer bets on Alabama’s college baseball program.

“Alabama Athletics became aware of this situation Monday evening and is actively seeking information about the report,” Jessica Paré, the program’s deputy athletic director said in a statement.

As of Wednesday, May 3, there have been no reports of foul play involving the program’s players and personnel. The NCAA prohibits either group from wagering on 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.”

The line movement may be from sharp bettors who found ways to gain inside information on the late starting pitcher change. A more permanent betting ban on the program will happen should investigations lead to players or personnel involved in transactions. In the meantime, Ohio has decided to ban the suspicious Alabama baseball betting.

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