The convicted bookie who placed bets for Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter believes half of professional athletes are gambling on sports. 'I know some of them are still betting on sports,' Mathew Bowyer told the New York Post. 'If 50 percent are gambling, I would think 10 percent of those are compulsive gamblers.'. The 49-year-old Bowyer estimates that less than three percent wager on their own sport and does not believe pro games are being fixed.

In fact, he was surprised to see the ongoing federal investigation into gambling allegations against Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, who has more than $130 million in career earnings. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the inquiry is just one part of a larger investigation into alleged match fixing in basketball. The same probe has already resulted in a guilty plea and lifetime NBA ban for former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter – a less-heralded player with a little more than $2 million in career earnings.

'I was very surprised because [Rozier is] filthy rich and usually the people that tend to be doing these things aren't on $90 million contracts,' Bowyer said. Bowyer faces up to 18 years in prison at Friday's sentencing after pleading guilty back in August to charges of running an illegal gambling operation, money laundering and subscribing to a false tax return. He ran the illegal bookmaking scheme in California and Nevada for at least five years, during which time he took millions in bets from Ohtani´s now-former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

Bowyer, left, a Southern California bookmaker, arrives with his attorney, Diane Bass in August. Shohei Ohtani (left) was the victim of Mizuhara's fraud, according to Major League Baseball. Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud after being caught stealing nearly $17 million from one bank account belonging to Ohtani during his time with the Los Angeles Angels. Although Mizuhara moved from the Angels to the Dodgers when Ohtani signed his record $700 million free-agent deal before the 2024 season, he was quickly fired in early 2024 as his deception was revealed.

Federal investigators believe Mizuhara won $142 million across 19,000 wagers between September of 2021 and January of 2024. However, those winnings were deposited into his own account, while Mizuhara used Ohtani's to cover his losses, which totaled around $183 million – a difference of $41 million. Mizuhara worked with several bookmakers and actually impersonated Ohtani in calls to Dodgers star's bank, as revealed by the federal probe.

Investigators did not find any evidence Mizuhara wagered on baseball, nor could they prove that Ohtani was even aware of the theft, much less the gambling. Bowyer never directly asked Mizuhara if he was actually placing the bets for Ohtani, but said he could tell that the translator was going rogue. 'It was very obvious after some time he was stealing money and not asking Ohtani for permission,' Bowyer told The Post, adding that Mizuhara wired him $500,000 every two weeks atone point.

'He never acted as if the dollar amounts impacted him for one second. He was so polite and so respectful,' Bowyer said. Mizuhara faces up to 33 years in prison and will be sentenced in California on Thursday. At one point Bowyer did ask Mizuhara about his mounting losses. 'I asked him if he was OK,' Bowyer said. 'He said, 'I'm just terrible at this.' I would try to control him a little bit.'. 'I truly believe he had a massive gambling addiction problem.'.

Major League Baseball came to the same conclusion as Bowyer, saying Ohtani is 'a victim of fraud' before closing the matter. Despite Mizuhara's problem, Bowyer admits he had trouble cutting him off because the bookmaking operation was so successful. 'I was driving my Rolls [Royce] and Lamborghini,' Bowyer said, while admitting to his own gambling problems. 'Now, I feel guilty because I feel I was part of it,' Bowyer said.

Pete Rose went from managing his hometown Reds in 1989 to a lifetime ban from baseball. Bowyer also placed bets for the late Pete Rose, albeit long after the 1989 scandal that resulted in his permanent ban from baseball. Rose admitted to gambling on Cincinnati Reds games while managing the team, although he insisted he never bet on his hometown club to lose. Critics have insisted that point is irrelevant because Rose's gambling undermined fans' trust in the outcome of games.

But Rose's gambling problem didn't end with his lifetime ban from baseball. Two decades before his death last year, baseball's all-time hit king was averaging $1,000 wagers per game with Bowyer. Ultimately Bowyer was forced to cut Rose off due to his worsening habit. 'Rose just loved the action,' Bowyer said. 'He was absolutely compulsive. No question. 'I wasn't an angel but I wanted to keep my customer from blowing his brains out,' Bowyer added.