Mathew Bowyer, the California bookmaker who took $326 million in wagers from Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, is about to serve a year in prison for his crimes. Bowyer tells Forbes about how he met Mizuhara and how his illegal operation unraveled.<br /><br />Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2025/09/27/bookie-tied-to-ohtanis-interpreter-says-half-of-all-pro-athletes-gamble-on-sports/<br /><br />00:00 Introduction<br />00:28 Inside The Day Mathew Bowyer Was Arrested<br />03:10 How Mathew Became One Of America's Biggest Bookmakers<br />05:24 Meeting Ippei Mizuhara <br />09:05 The First Shohei Ohtani Wire Transfer <br />12:31 Gambling and the Integrity of Sports <br />13:23 Legalized Gambling and Increased Problems <br />17:36 Bowyer's Other Clients and Avoiding Rigged Games <br />18:56 Interplay Between Illegal and Legal Gambling Markets <br />26:51 The $65 Billion Illegal Nationwide Sports Betting Market<br />28:46 Money Laundering with Legal Marijuana Businesses <br />31:39 Why Mizuhara's Credit Was Not Cut Off <br />34:08 The Bookmaker's Service Perspective <br />37:15 Feeling of Responsibility in the Scandal <br />41:07 Effectiveness of Sports Gambling Monitoring Companies <br />43:41 Pervasiveness of Insider Trading in Sports <br />45:48 Life After Prison <br />46:50 Post-Prison Career Path: Inspiration and Motivation <br /><br />Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1<br /><br />Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:<br /><br />https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript<br /><br />Stay Connected<br />Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com<br />Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes<br />Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes<br />Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes<br />More From Forbes: http://forbes.com<br /><br />Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
