US sports betting crisis grows as MLB’s Clase and Ortiz indicted over alleged rigged pitches

• Pair could face 65 years in prison if found guilty

• NBA also caught up in its own gambling scandal

The betting crisis in US sports has spread further after Cleveland Guardians players Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted over an alleged scheme to rig pitches during games.

Bettors on baseball can gamble on whether individual pitches will be balls or strikes. Prosecutors allege claim that Ortiz was paid $5,000 for throwing an intentional ball during a game on 15 June. His teammate Clase, a three-time All-Star, is alleged to have been given $5,000 for facilitating the rigged pitch, alongside gamblers in the players' home country of the Dominican Republic. Prosecutors claim the pair did so again in a game on 27 June, receiving $7,000 each.