Shohei Ohtani Tops Charts as Most Wagered-On Athlete of 2025
In a year dominated by NFL betting for game outcomes, a different name reigned supreme in the realm of individual athlete wagers: Shohei Ohtani. According to data from BetMGM, the Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way superstar and National League MVP was the single most popular subject for prop bets across all sports in 2025.
While gamblers placed the highest volume of bets on NFL games overall, Ohtani attracted the most individual action, outpacing even Super Bowl champion running back Saquon Barkley, who ranked second. This popularity primarily stems from the vast array of player-specific proposition bets, or "prop bets," offered on his unique dual-role performance.
Sportsbooks like Caesars featured a wide menu of Ohtani-specific World Series prop bets, ranging from hitting a leadoff home run to striking out 20 batters in the series. Beyond Ohtani, the most popular MLB players among bettors were power hitters, with Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, and Cal Raleigh rounding out the top five.
However, the betting landscape was shadowed by a significant integrity scandal. In November, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted on federal charges of "rigging pitches"—conspiring with bettors by predetermining pitch outcomes like ball/strike or velocity. The case, involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in winnings, carries severe consequences: Clase faces a potential prison sentence of up to nine years and a lifetime ban from baseball if convicted.
In direct response to this scandal, Major League Baseball took decisive action. The day after the indictments, the league announced an agreement with sportsbook operators representing over 98% of the U.S. market to cap micro-bets on individual pitches at $200. MLB stated that while most prop bets involve broader outcomes, these pitch-level markets present a "heightened integrity risk" because they hinge on a single, often inconsequential, action controllable by one player.
This move aims to mitigate the incentive for misconduct by drastically limiting the potential financial payoff from manipulating such specific in-game events. As sports betting continues to grow intertwined with professional sports, Ohtani's market dominance highlights fan engagement, while the Clase-Ortiz case and MLB's subsequent rule change underscore the ongoing battle to protect the integrity of the game.
