Could Shohei Ohtani Receive A Life-Time Ban From the MLB?

• The Los Angeles Dodgers fired Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter Ippei Mizuhara for allegedly stealing millions from the MLB superstar.
• Mizuhara allegedly used the money to pay over $4 million worth of gambling debts to an illegal bookmaker in California.
• Ohtani’s interpreter insisted that Ohtani was not involved, but his bank account being used to pay the debts raises questions.

LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani is at the center of a gambling scandal surrounding his interpreter and an illegal Californian bookmaker. More than $4.5 million in wire transfers from Ohtani’s bank account were sent to an illegal bookmaking operation.

Ohtani’s longtime friend and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara allegedly stole the funds to cover his gambling debts. He was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers and accused of major theft but, could this be a cover up situation for the biggest star in baseball?

Ohtani Would Face Lifetime Ban If Found Betting On Games

Plenty of legal sports betting and viewership increased for baseball since Ohtani’s rise to stardom. There’s not much motive for Ohtani to gamble after signing a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, but the story is still developing.

Major League Baseball’s gambling policy states “Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible.” There’s no evidence stating Ohtani placed any bets, but his bank account being used to pay an illegal bookmaker makes the situation seem fishy.

Ohtani could simply just be helping a friend, or Mizuhara could be taking the fall for the Dodgers’ slugger. The MLB also has a provision surrounding illegal bookmakers, stating that “Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee who places bets with illegal book makers, shall be subject to such penalty as the Commissioner deems appropriate in light of the facts and circumstances of the conduct.”

Ohtani’s name was involved in an investigation over California sports betting bookmaker Matthew Bowyer, who has not been arrested and never been in contact with Ohtani, per his attorney Diane Bass. Mizuhara denied that Ohtani placed any bets but the story is still developing.

News tags: Baseball | California | Ippei Mizuhara | LA Dodgers | MLB | Shohei Ohtani