Feds recommend 57 months for Mizuhara

In court documents released Thursday (30 January), US attorneys are recommending a “significant period of incarceration” for former Shohei Ohtani interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. The documents were filed a week ahead of Mizuhara’s 6 February sentencing hearing. Mizuhara bet with an illegal bookmaker and stole $17 million (£13.7 million/€16.3 million) from baseball star Ohtani.

In the documents, Jeff Mitchell, the US attorney leading the government’s case, clearly states that he does not believe that Mizuhara had a long-standing gambling addiction.

Exhibits filed with the case show that Mizuhara started gambling on a legal site, DraftKings, in 2023 after he had “already stolen millions of dollars from Mr. Ohtani.” The statements paint Mizuhara as a dishonest thief rather than an individual grappling with addiction.

Mitchell wrote that Mizuhara claimed to be sorry in a letter to the court. But he contended that “all defendants claim to be remorseful at the time of sentencing, but the question courts must answer is whether the defendant is truly remorseful or whether they are just sorry they were caught.”

Mizuhara’s sentencing is set for 1 p.m. 6 February at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and US Courthouse in Santa Ana, Calif.

Mizuhara just one piece of wide-ranging scandal

Mizuhara in June 2024 pled guilty to multiple federal counts around illegal sports betting, including stealing $17 million from Ohtani. At the time, Mizuhara was the Dodgers’ baseball star’s Japanese-language interpreter.

He bet with illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who is set to be sentenced in April. Bowyer is part of a larger illegal betting ring that also involves former minor-league baseball player Wayne Nix. The group is said to have washed money through Las Vegas and Southern California casinos.

Mizuhara is the highest-profile name in the scandal, due to his association with Ohtani. To date, former Las Vegas casino executive Scott Sibella is the only figure involved in the scandal to be sentenced.

Wyoming online gambling on hold ’til next week

Two Wyoming tribes testified in opposition to a statewide online gambling bill Thursday (30 January), saying that the proliferation of gambling options in the state have already cut into their revenue. HB 162, slated for discussion Thursday, was laid over until next week when the house travel, recreation, leisure and cultural resources committee ran short on time. But any witnesses who traveled long distance were invited to testify briefly.

Northern Arapahoe chairman Keenan Groesbeck said his tribe has already been “negatively affected” since digital sports betting launched. And Clinton Glick, on behalf of the Shoshone business council, told the committee that any expansion of gaming “hinders our revenue, which comes in to help us better our community.”

The bill would make online gambling legal at a 16% tax rate and to operators who are already live in at least three other US jurisdictions. There would be a $100,000 permit fee, valid for five years, and a $50,000 renewal fee. The Wyoming Gaming Commission would be tasked with promulgating rules by 31 December.

The committee will reconvene next week, though no date was set before adjournment.

Things are heating up in Alabama

A week before Alabama’s legislative session opens, rhetoric about gambling is reaching a pinnacle. Just this week, the Alabama Political Reporter ran an op-ed telling Alabamans that this is their chance to weigh in on a gambling expansion, and the Alabama Policy Institute this week launched an anti-gambling website.

From the Alabama Political Reporter:

You’re going to start to hear the desperation from a bunch of people you wouldn’t hire to pressure wash your driveway but who really, really need your vote to keep them in these cushy jobs where they do the stuff major donors want 90% of the time.

And then there is the “Betting hurts Bama” website from the API, which suggests that legal gambling will increase the size of government, tear apart Alabama families and create a spike in mental-health issues.

“Legalising casino-style gambling in the state and establishing a statewide lottery is bad public policy, both fiscally and socially, and it is the wrong solution to address the state’s unsustainable fiscal trajectory,” reads a section on the site. “Regardless of who plays the lottery or gambles (and regardless of the outcome), the government receives a portion of every dollar spent on these activities. This creates a perverse incentive for the state, especially when conventional revenue streams are volatile.”

Alabama’s session opens 4 February and lawmakers are poised to consider another wide-ranging gambling expansion, including online gambling. Last year, a bill that would have added lottery, sports betting, casinos and more failed in the waning days of the session.

NBA’s Rozier could be part of illegal betting scandal

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier may be the next athlete implicated in a widening illegal betting ring. The Wall Street Journal Thursday (30 January) broke the story that the NBA and federal attorneys are investigating “unusual betting activity” in game from 2023. Rozier was playing for the Charlotte Hornets at that time.

The game in question was against the New Orleans Pelicans in March 2023. In that game, Rozier left after 9 minutes, 36 seconds with a foot injury. He was sidelined for the rest of the season. His points, rebounds and assists totals were below his usual performances.