A comprehensive study shows signs of rising illegal betting rates in Japan. This surge is most noticeable in baseball.
Ippei Mizuhara will surrender to federal authorities in June. He will begin a 57-month prison sentence, nearly three months after his original reporting date for crimes related to sports betting.
Mizuhara is the disgraced former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani. He is somewhat of a pariah in Japan, where the Dodgers baseball star is viewed as a national hero. Mizuhara received a lengthy sentence in February for embezzling at least $17 million from Ohtani to feed his gambling habit. After serving his prison sentence, Mizuhara may face deportation from the United States. He was born in Tomakomai, a port city on Japan’s second-largest island.
The rate of illegal sports gambling apparently has been soaring back in Japan, where baseball is the national pastime. In 2024, Japanese citizens placed an estimated ¥6.45 trillion ($44.6 billion) in overseas sports wagers, despite the sites being illegal. This is according to a report from the Council for Sports Ecosystem Promotion of the nation. According to the CSEP, the market has grown considerably, yet arrests for gambling-related offenses remain minimal. The investigation published its findings on May 14.
The quick growth in sports betting in Japan shows little signs of subsiding. The investigation found that an estimated ¥1 trillion of the vast amounts wagered offshore involved domestic sports in Japan. That huge volume raises questions about sports gambling habits in the third-richest country in Asia.
Several weeks after two members of the Yomiuri Giants were referred to prosecutors for allegedly gambling on illegal online casino sites, the report was issued.
Luis Okoye and Daiki Masuda the two players, lost millions in yen on online games like baccarat and blackjack. Okoye is a nine-year veteran and has 14 career home runs and a batting average of .226 since joining the Nippon Professional Baseball league in 2016. According to Mainichi Shimbum, the outfielder wagered about ¥7 million on online casino games, making a negative balance of around ¥4.5 million, the largest daily newspaper of the nation.
