Little League International released a statement on Thursday condemning betting on youth sports while its World Series is being played.
In the statement, the governing body said “we feel strongly that there is no place for betting on Little League games or on any youth sports competition.”
“No one should be exploiting the success and failures of children playing the game they love for their own personal gain,” part of the statement read.
The World Series has been played annually in Williamsport, Pa., since 1974. Sports betting has been legal in Pennsylvania since 2017. Odds for the Little League World Series have appeared for years on offshore sportsbooks, but not domestically.
BetOnline.ag, a sportsbook based in Panama, offers illegal betting on the LLWS that isn’t licensed in Pennsylvania and therefore can’t be enforced by the state’s Gaming Control Board or U.S. betting laws and regulations. As of Friday morning, BetOnline is offering wagers on the four LLWS games slated to be played the same day, but isn’t offering prop bets.
Another sportsbook offering odds that can’t be penalized is Bovada, which is based in Costa Rica.
When asked if the league knew of any bets made on the series, a Little League spokesman said in an email to Front Office Sports: “We are not aware of anything on-site in Williamsport, but we are aware of online odds surrounding the World Series.”
Licensed sportsbooks have their own policies that prohibit betting on events such as the LLWS.
Little League International’s statement comes at a time when the sports world has been plagued by betting scandals. Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are currently on paid leave by MLB as part of a gambling probe and NBA players Terry Rozier and Malik Beasley are both tied to gambling investigations.
