illegal sports betting – FairOdds Network

August 9, 2024

Bowyer pleads guilty; sentencing for US illegal bookie set for February

Mathew Bowyer, who ran an illegal bookmaking business for at least five years in California, pleaded guilty on Friday (9 August) to three federal charges. Bowyer had more than 700 customers, including former Shohei Ohtani interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.
Bowyer told Judge John W Holcomb, “I was running an illegal gambling operation, laundering money through other people’s bank accounts.” The hearing was held at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and US Courthouse in Santa Ana, California.

That is the same location at which Mizuhara pleaded guilty to stealing $17m from Ohtani to bet with Bowyer. Mizuhara faces up to 33 years in prison and is set to be sentenced in October.

Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara faces up to 33 years in prison. Photo by Jill R Dorson
Holcomb set Bowyer’s sentencing for 7 February 2025. He faces a maximum of 18 years in prison and three years of probation. He could be fined $750,000 or two times the “gross gain or gross loss resulting from the of..

August 5, 2024

Bowyer allegedly had 700+ illegal betting customers, washed money through Las Vegas and California casinos

Court documents reveal that alleged illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer had more than 700 customers, washed money through multiple casinos and used Costa-Rican betting websites in his business.
On 1 August, Bowyer was charged on three counts. He is accused of running an illegal bookmaking scheme, laundering money and filing a false tax return. Bowyer, according to court documents, will plead guilty Friday before Judge John W Holcomb at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Santa Ana, California.

Bowyer’s business was based out of Orange and Los Angeles counties in California and Clark County in Las Vegas. Sports betting is illegal in California.

Bowyer faces a maximum sentence of 18 years in prison and three years of probation. He could be fined $750,000 or two times the “gross gain or gross loss resulting from the offences” – whichever is higher.

Mizuhara, two pro ballplayers linked to Bowyer
According to the court documents, it is unclear when Bowyer sta..

August 2, 2024

Mizuhara bookie Mathew Bowyer charged in illegal California wagering ring, set to plead guilty

Mathew Bowyer, an illegal bookmaker with deep connections to Las Vegas’ gambling scene, is set to plead guilty in a high-profile betting case involving a former interpreter for Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Bowyer is charged with multiple counts of illegal gambling activities. Among these charges are running an unlicensed sportsbook, filing a false tax return and money laundering. According to a US department of justice notice, federal prosecutors have outlined a case demonstrating that Bowyer facilitated and profited from a large-scale illegal sports betting ring, which implicated various figures in the sports world.

The illegal southern California wagering ring involved high-profile clients, including athletes and executives.

Most notable among those figures was Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. He pleaded guilty in June to bank fraud and filing a false tax return. He has to return to court in October for sentencing.

If convicted, Bowyer could face up ..

July 17, 2024

Judge denies Jontay Porter’s request for his passport so he can play pro ball in Greece

On Tuesday (16 July), banned NBA player Jontay Porter filed a motion to get his passport back before sentencing in an NBA sports betting scandal, so he can play basketball in Greece. A district court judge denied the motion.

The motion, filed by Porter in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, included four requests:

1. for Jontay Porter to get his passport back;

2. to travel to and around Europe;

3. to live in Patras, Greece; and

4. to play pro basketball in Patras, Greece.

Porter last week pleaded guilty to felony charges and admitted to being part of a gambling scandal in which he removed himself from two NBA games so others could win their bets. Four others have been charged in the scandal.

Porter is set to be sentenced in December. Federal prosecutors are recommending that he serve 41-51 months in prison. He’ll also have to pay more than $450,000 in fines and fees.

Porter was released on $250,000 bond put up by his wife and mother.

Jontay Porte..

July 10, 2024

Ex-NBA player Jontay Porter pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud

On Wednesday (10 July) former Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter turned himself in to federal authorities and pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a sports betting scandal that involves four others. Porter entered his plea at the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Federal prosecutors recommended 41-51 months in prison and Porter will have to pay more than $450,000 in fines and fees. According to the New York Post, Porter was released on $250,000 bond put up by his wife and mother.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver banned Porter from the league for life in April, several weeks after news broke that he may have violated league wagering rules. Porter tampered with two games so that his co-conspirators could win “under” prop bets. NBA players are allowed to gamble, but are forbidden from betting on basketball and from fixing games. Porter is the only NBA player to be banned or suspended for betting since PASPA was overturned in 2018.

According to a federal ..

July 3, 2024

US DoJ preps to criminally charge Porter with felony in illegal gambling scheme

Federal prosecutors in New York are preparing to charge Jontay Porter for his involvement in the illegal betting scandal that got him banned from the NBA. Porter's name appeared on a federal court docket on Wednesday (3 July), reports the New York Daily News.

Court papers were not immediately available but, according to the Daily News, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) will seek felony charges. Porter is accused of game fixing in an illegal gambling scheme. Four others have been arrested and arraigned for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the case.

The Daily News wrote that Porter will likely be charged “through an ‘information’ document instead of an indictment, which typically happens when a suspect plans to plead guilty to the charges at the case’s onset”.

Porter allegedly removed himself from two Toronto Raptors games to allow bettors to win on “under” prop bets. DraftKings reported suspicious activity to the NBA after games on 26 January and 22 March. The four arrested..

June 20, 2024

Ontario police open Jontay Porter criminal investigation

On Tuesday (18 June) a representative for Ontario's Provincial Police told ESPN that it has opened a criminal investigation into former Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver in April issued Jontay Porter a lifetime ban from the league for betting on his own team and sharing personal information with bettors.

According to ESPN, the OPP Investigation and Enforcement Bureau will coordinate with US federal authorities, who are also investigating wrongdoing surrounding two NBA games. Porter took himself out of games on 26 January and 22 March. According to a federal affidavit, Porter allegedly left the games early at the behest of of Ammar Awawdeh.

“Screenshot this … Me ammar awawdeh born 7/23/91 is forcing [Player 1] to do this,” reads a text in the affidavit. Porter allegedly replied with: “If I don’t do a special with your terms. Then it’s up. And u hate me and if I don’t get you 8k by Friday you’re coming to Toronto to beat me up.”

Porter is not identifie..

June 20, 2024

Yield Sec projections: Illegal market still has strong hold on US gamblers

Using predictive analytics, Yield Sec earlier this month released a special report projecting that, even as legal sports betting proliferates across the US, the black market still dominates. According to the report, the black market made up 65% of all wagering GGR in the US.

In 2023, according to the report, of the predicted total $29.5bn GGR in the US, $10.4bn was from legal operators.

Yield Sec further broke down the numbers and determined that 15% of all legal US GGR came from basketball, 10% from football and 6% from baseball.

Parlays ruled US betting in 2023, making up 54% ($15.9bn) of GGR. A company spokesperson said that while operator data may show that football is the most-bet sport in the US, many of those bets are parlays, which show up as “parlays” rather than “football” in Yield Sec data.

The report is titled “How America Bets Online” and only includes data related to online or digital gambling.

Yield Sec, a market intelligence platform, uses AI to trawl the web f..

March 25, 2024

Ohtani: ‘I have never bet on sports or willfully sent money to the bookmaker’

On Monday (25 March), during a press conference regarding the sports betting scandal swirling around his former interpreter, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani vehemently denied that he ever bet on sports, sent money to an illegal bookmaker or “willfully” paid off gambling debts for anyone.

The comments were in response to the news last week that Ohtani’s interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, was stealing from him to support a gambling habit.

“I have never bet on baseball or any other sports or have asked anyone to do that for me,” Ohtani said in a prepared statement. “Up until a couple of days ago, I didn’t know this was happening. In conclusion Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies.”

Ohtani appeared with a new interpreter and did not take questions after the statement.

The man who owns baseball’s richest contract – he signed a 10-year, $700m deal with the Dodgers during the off season – was earnest, straightforward and direct in his ..

March 20, 2024

Baseball star Ohtani’s lawyers: Interpreter stole for illegal sports betting

The Los Angeles Times claims lawyers for baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani are accusing the ballplayer's interpreter of stealing money and placing “bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker who is the target of a federal investigation”.

The Los Angeles Times broke the story today (20 March) claiming baseball superstar Ohtani’s lawyers are accusing the ballplayer’s interpreter Ippei Mizuhara of “massive theft” for illegal sports betting.

According to the Times’ report, learning of the theft was incidental after Ohtani’s name turned up during an investigation into Michael Bowyer.

“Millions” of dollars involved in illegal sports betting investigation

Two sources told the newspaper that “millions of dollars” were involved. Federal agents “raided” Bowyer’s Orange County, California. home last year as part of an illegal sports betting investigation, and the Times discovered Ohtani’s name came up in that investigation.

According to an ESPN report, $4.5m was wired out of Ohtani’s acco..

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Tag: illegal sports betting