In a landmark decision that underscores Major League Baseball’s stringent stance on gambling, Padres player Tucupita Marcano has been permanently banned from the MLB. The league announced the decision on Tuesday, with four other players, including Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly, facing suspensions of up to a year, as reported by MLB.com. This move positions baseball alongside other major sports leagues that have taken strong actions against gambling violations this year.
Marcano’s lifetime ban marks him as the second player in a U.S. professional sports league to receive such a penalty this year. The NBA made headlines on April 17 when it banned Jontay Porter for life after discovering that he placed bets on NBA games and shared confidential health information with another bettor.
The Marcano ban highlights an ongoing trend across professional sports leagues to address gambling-related misconduct. The NFL, for instance, suspended ten players last year for up to a year for various gambling violations, all of whom have since been reinstated. The NHL also took action in October, suspending Shane Pinto for violating league rules, and the PGA Tour followed suit, suspending two players for similar reasons.
Under MLB’s Rule 21, league employees face a lifetime ban if they are caught betting on their own team. Betting on other MLB teams results in a one-year suspension. These rules are designed to protect the integrity of the game and have been a cornerstone of MLB’s policy for over a century.
In many cases, these violations were brought to light by the very platforms the players were betting on. DraftKings, for example, reported suspicious activity regarding Porter to the NBA, prompting an investigation. In Marcano’s case, an unidentified legal sports operator reported suspicious activity to MLB in March. The Wall Street Journal first broke the story on June 3 that MLB was investigating five players, and the league announced the resultant punishments a day later.
MLB’s investigation was thorough, involving data from several legal sportsbooks, which provided authentication details for the bets. None of the five players opted to appeal their suspensions, making the disciplinary actions immediate and final.
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Commissioner Rob Manfred underscored the importance of maintaining the integrity of the sport in his statement on the matter. “The longstanding prohibition against betting on Major League Baseball games by those in the sport has been a bedrock principle for over a century,” Manfred said. “We have been clear that the privilege of playing in baseball comes with a responsibility to refrain from engaging in certain types of behavior that are legal for other people. The strict enforcement of Major League Baseball’s rules and policies governing gambling conduct is a critical component of upholding our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans.”
The banned Padres’ Marcano has not played in an MLB game since July 2023. He was with the Pittsburgh Pirates when he engaged in betting activities. Notably, betting is legal in Pennsylvania and Indiana, where Marcano saw some action playing for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians affiliate.
Marcano’s betting activities were extensive, with sportsbook data revealing he placed 387 baseball bets amounting to more than $150,000, including 231 on MLB games. Of significant concern were the 25 bets he placed on Pirates games while he was on the roster, although he did not play in any of these matches. His bets were typically parlays, indicating a comprehensive engagement with gambling.
Meanwhile, Michael Kelly’s involvement appears minor in comparison. Data shows that Kelly placed ten bets totaling $99.22 between October 5 and October 17, 2021, while he was with the Houston Astros. Kelly earned a net win of $28.30 and did not bet on any Astros games or games in which he played.
Both the San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics expressed disappointment over their players’ violations of league regulations. In their statements, both teams emphasized that these violations happened before the players joined their current rosters. Both organizations reaffirmed their commitment to MLB’s betting policies and the subsequent disciplinary measures.
As MLB continues to navigate the complexities of legal sports betting, the league’s resolute actions this week make it clear that any breach of its gambling policies will be met with severe consequences. This stern approach aims to preserve the integrity and trust that fans have in America’s pastime, ensuring that the purity of the game remains uncompromised.
