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Was Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani illegally betting on games?
Was he just covering for interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who it turns out may not actually be the person he says he is?
We’ll hopefully have more answers when Ohtani speaks with the media on Monday, but one thing is certain, Orange County bookie Matthew Bowyer isn’t doing Ohtani any favors.
Bookie Matthew Bowyer Let Other Bettors Believe That Shohei Ohtani Was A Client
Bowyer is the illegal bookie who allegedly took bets from Mizuhara and took wire payments from Ohtani. According to a report from ESPN’s Tisha Thompson, Boyer wasn’t exactly doing much to dispel the idea that it was Ohtani – not Mizuhara – who was playing the bets.
“A source said Bowyer was aware of the name on the wire transfers but chose not to ask any questions as long as payments came in; however, the source said Bowyer allowed people to believe Ohtani was a client in order to boost business,” Thompson reports.
Now, that obviously doesn’t mean that Ohtani was the one placing bets. But he was the one paying for the bets, knowingly or unknowingly.
And if it walks like a duck, and it quacks like duck…well, you can finish the saying.
Ohtani, through his representation, maintains that he did not place any bets and the Mizuhara was stealing the funds from him.
“‘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,’ a statement from law firm Berk Brettler LLP said of the situation.
Major League Baseball initially declined to investigate the case, but has since reversed course. Though as of the time of writing, the league maintains that it does not have enough hard evidence to hand down any sort of punishment to Ohtani/