Sports Betting Scandal Hits Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani, the face of Major League Baseball globally, has been caught up in a sports betting scandal, apparently without the MLB superstar even knowing. The positive news is that none of our best sports betting sites were caught in the crossfire.

On Wednesday, news broke that Ohtani's Dodgers longtime interpreter, dating back to 2017, Ippei Mizuhara, is accused of stealing millions from the Japanese sensation and using it to place sports bets through illegal means.

According to an LA Times report, Mizuhara has racked up a huge gambling debt to an unlicensed, unregulated Southern California bookmaker that has been under scrutiny by federal investigators. California sports betting is one of the few markets in the U.S. that has yet to be legalized.

ESPN has since reported that those debts are of at least $4.5 million.

According to a statement by the West Hollywood law firm of Berk Brettler, “In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.” 

The Dodgers have since fired Ippei Mizuhara from his job as the MLB star's personal interpreter.

How it all went down

Authorities stumbled upon Ohtani's name when investigating Southern California bookmaker Mathew Bowyer for illegal activity surrounding sports betting in the state. The investigation into Bowyer included an October raid of his house in Orange County.

According to investigative sources, wire transfer payments were uncovered from Ohtani's account to an associate of Bowyer. An ESPN report revealed two payments of $500,000 in September and October.

That report identified Ohtani's name in the wire transfer and various bank account information related to what the document cites as a "loan."

So far, there is zero indication that Ohtani himself was caught up in the illegal gambling activity or had any contact with the accused illegal bookmaker.

For the record

Ippei Mizuhara has denied that Ohtani had any involvement in sports betting. He told ESPN on Wednesday, “I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. … I’m terrible [at gambling.] Never going to do it again. Never won any money. I mean, I dug myself a hole and it kept on getting bigger, and it meant I had to bet bigger to get out of it and just kept on losing. It’s like a snowball effect.”

Mizuhara claimed in that interview that he never bet on baseball and that Ohtani agreed to pay off his gambling debts. Mizuhara claimed that he wagered on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL, and college football using Bowyer's illegal services.

In his ESPN interview Mizuhara said "Obviously, he [Ohtani] wasn't happy about it and said he would help me out to make sure I never do this again. He decided to pay it off for me."

According to lawyers for Mathew Bowyer, the California bookmaker involved in the illegal activity, Ohtani himself never had any contact with his client. "Mr. Bowyer never met or spoke with Shohei Ohtani," said lawyer Dianne Bass.

Ramifications

The Shohei Ohtani story is certain to result in increased scrutiny of the dangers of sports betting worldwide and some unwanted extra attention for the baseball superstar and the Dodgers organization.

Underrated will be the affect on Ohtani himself as he loses a longtime friend and confidant as he moves to a new team and new market for the upcoming 2024 MLB season.