Shohei Ohtani Allegedly Named Complicit in Ex-Interpreter’s $17M Gambling Fraud, Claims Acquitted Bookmaker

Shohei Ohtani just can’t seem to get out of the gambling scandal. Just days after his rather adorable incident with a heckler on the mound, the gambling has taken center stage again. This time, the allegations are coming from the man who is at the center of it all—Matthew Bowyer.

The Southern California bookmaker, who admitted to running the operation, fueled Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara’s gambling addiction. And according to the bookmaker, the Dodgers star might know more than he lets on.

Bowyer, already acquitted in the case, insisted that while Ohtani was not the one placing bets, he for sure knew the money was going somewhere. “I definitely believe it was the interpreter. I don’t believe that Shohei Ohtani made any wagers… I do believe that Shohei Ohtani was aware of Ippei’s either gambling or borrowing money, or using some of his funds. To what extent and how long—that part is all up in the air.”

"I do believe that Shohei Ohtani was aware of Ippei's either gambling or borrowing money, or using some of his funds."

Today on A Numbers Game, Mathew Bowyer, former bookie for Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who pled guilty to illegal gambling charges. He joins… pic.twitter.com/aJz9oySzPp

— VSiN (@VSiNLive) August 28, 2025

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