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Betting Scandals
Congressman Seeks DOJ Probe After Offshore Sportsbooks Took Bets on Little League World Series
Posted on: September 8, 2026, 02:44h.
Last updated on: September 8, 2026, 02:45h.
A congressman from California is requesting that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Treasury Department conduct probes into whether offshore sportsbooks violated federal laws in allowing US consumers to place bets on the 2026 Little League World Series (LLWS).
Rep. Kevin Kiley, an independent who caucuses with the Republican Party, is calling on Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to initiate inquiries into gambling on the LLWS. Kiley’s appeal comes after reports surfaced last month that offshore sportsbooks were offering lines on the 20-team tournament played in Williamsport, Pa.
The systematic exploitation of children is a genuine concern to myself and the members of my committee. I’m reaching out today to request an investigation by your respective agencies so we can put an end to this obvious abuse, and if laws were broken to secure swift prosecution of the offending parties,” Kiley wrote in the letter first obtained by USA Today Sports.
Kiley chairs the House Education Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
Big Bets on Little League Baseball
During the 2026 LLWS, which ran from Aug. 19 to Aug. 30, offshore sportsbooks were spotted offering odds on the tournament. The lines, at times, attracted more action than that day’s allotment of Major League Baseball (MLB) games.
The headlines prompted Little League International to issue a statement for a second year in a row opposing such illegal bets.
Little League International stands by its statement first issued last year that there is no place for betting on Little League games and players or any youth sports competition. Little League is a trusted place where children are learning the fundamentals of the games and all the important life lessons that come with having fun, celebrating teamwork, and playing with integrity, and no one should be exploiting the success and failures of children playing the game they love for their own personal gain,” the organization said.
No legal, state-regulated sportsbook or federally regulated prediction market is permitted to take bets involving Little League baseball or any other youth sport. But consumers can easily hop on the internet and access an illegal offshore sportsbook that does.
“We have existing laws that may well be implicated, so that’s why we got the Department of Justice to look at it. I hope that they will undertake an investigation to see whether laws have been broken now, what tools they have to bring this process to an end, and if it’s found that there’s no existing legal authority or tools to stop it, then to work on appropriate legislation to provide that authority,” Kiley told USA Today Sports.
Offshore sportsbooks establish their businesses in jurisdictions friendly to remote online gambling, such as Costa Rica, Curacao, Panama, Malta, Anjouan, and Isle of Man, and then target consumers around the world.
Little League Controversies
It’s not only betting on Little League games that has generated scandal in recent months for the national organization.
In September 2025, a Connecticut man and longtime Little League treasurer is thought to have committed suicide after it was discovered that he stole at least $165,000 from the organization to gamble online.
In June, a Massachusetts town official was indicted on allegations that he stole $250,000 from the Little League to gamble.
And in July, a Little League president in Las Vegas was accused of using chapter funds at casinos and strip clubs.
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