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Bookie Mathew Bowyer To Be Sentenced in Ex-Ohtani Interpreter Gambling Case

Gary Pearson

Last Updated: August 13, 2024 10:16 AM EDT • 1 min 23 sec read.

Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara attend a football game as we cover the guilty plea from the California bookie who accepted Mizuhara's illegal wagers.
Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara attend the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints. Photo by: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports.

With no legal sports betting market available to residents of California, using our best sports betting sites isn't an option.

Former California bookie Matthew Bowyer—who became infamous after accepting about 20,000 illegal wagers from ex-Shohei Ohtani interpreter Ippei Mizuhara—pleaded guilty to various charges, including running an illegal gambling operation, money laundering, and filing a false tax return. 

“I was running an illegal gambling operation, laundering money through other people’s bank accounts,” Bowyer told the judge in a Santa Ana, Calif., courtroom. 

The 49-year-old will be sentenced on Feb. 7, 2025, and could face up to 18 years if the maximum sentence is applied.

However, Bowyer's lawyer, Diane Bass, expects his sentence to be between 30 and 37 months. 

Legal California sports betting is not a reality, and the Golden State has not yet followed in the footsteps of the 38 U.S. States that are either making steps toward legalization or have regulated and legal sports betting markets, like those where our best sports betting apps operate. 

Bowyer's illegal gambling business  

Bowyer operated an illegal gambling business for at least five years in Southern California and Las Vegas, accepting wagers from at least 700 bettors, including Mizuhara. 

Federal prosecutors said Bowyer also accepted illegal wagers from a professional baseball player for a Southern California club and a former minor league player, but neither person was identified by name in court filings.

Mizuhara was Bowyer's main and most high-profile customer

From Sept. 2021 to Jan. 2024, Mizuhara stole almost $17 million from Ohtani to pay Bowyer for thousands of illegal wagers.

In June, the disgraced former interpreter pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud. 

Mizuhara is said to have won about $142 million, all of which was deposited into his bank accounts. His losses totaled $183 million, for an overall loss of $41 million.

He also spent about $325,000 of Ohtani's money on baseball cards and even used some funds to cover personal medical bills. 

Prosecutors found no evidence that Mizuhara bet on baseball, and they also found Ohtani, who cooperated fully with investigators, was innocent of any wrongdoing. 

Mizuhara will be sentenced in October.

While the charges carry a maximum sentence of 30 years, it's expected Mizuhara's sentence will be much less severe in terms of jail time due to his guilty plea. 

Written By:
Gary Pearson
Gary Pearson has written professionally since 2010, focusing on sports betting since 2014. Before entering the sports betting space, he contributed to the Canadian Press, FanSided, the Hockey Writers, the Calgary Herald, and other publications. His work has also been featured in Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report. Gary, who consumes sports like a blue whale devours plankton, has a penchant for writing predictions and analyses across several sports, including hockey, soccer, football, tennis, and more. He bets regularly, preferring single-game picks, props, and live betting. While there isn't a sport he has yet to dabble in, Gary prefers betting on soccer, hockey, and football. He studied at various post-secondary institutions, including the University of Calgary, SAIT Polytechnic, and Griffith University, located in Brisbane, Australia. Gary has a marketing degree and completed his bachelor's degree in journalism at Griffith University. He feels strongly that life experience is as essential as post-secondary education, helping formulate more accurate predictions and analyses. Gary believes that competing at a high level of amateur sports during his formative years helped him better understand an athlete's psyche and the nuances and complexities of a team's dynamic, both on and off the playing surface. He feels that knowledge is immeasurably important when offering his analytical expertise. He has lived on five continents and currently resides in Canada.