Tag - gambling

 
 

GAMBLING

Nanako Fujita competes during a race in 2019. The recent news of Fujita quitting after her suspension for breaking horse racing's strict phone rules shows that bad habits related to smartphone use don't discriminate.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Oct 25, 2024
Horse racing in Japan has a smartphone problem
Nanako Fujita's recent retirement over breaches of smartphone rules put a spotlight on a big issue for horse racing in Japan.
To preserve the integrity of the game in the legalized gambling era, Major League Baseball must double down and maintain its now posthumous ban on Pete Rose.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 4, 2024
Pete Rose fans are wrong: He's not worthy of the Hall of Fame
Backing down would undermine the league’s zero-tolerance stance and signal that "permanently ineligible" isn't always permanent.
Fans watch the Super Bowl at the FanDuel sportsbook in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in February 2019.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Oct 2, 2024
FanDuel sued by convicted NFL executive over gambling addiction
The complaint by Amit Patel, who was sentenced to 78 months behind bars in March, alleges that FanDuel ignored its own responsible gaming protocols.
Phillies players celebrate after a win over the Marlins in Miami earlier this month.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 18, 2024
DraftKings sued by MLB Players Union for using names and images
Revenue has expanded at DraftKings as it attracted more loyal bettors, even as it faced increased competition from online peers and legacy casinos.
The Osaka Prefectural Police recently arrested three people who allegedly had some ¥4.9 billion in total paid into their bank accounts from about 10,000 people who took part in overseas online gambling.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2024
Three arrested over alleged laundering of online casino money
The suspects allegedly had some ¥4.9 billion in total paid into their bank accounts from about 10,000 people who took part in overseas online gambling.
Elderly pachinko players at Day Service Las Vegas, a casino-themed day care service in Yokohama, in August
JAPAN / Society
Sep 11, 2024
Pachinko-style gambling is helping seniors’ brains in Japan
Bolstered by evidence that playing the pinball machines can help prevent dementia, some businesses are now tailoring services in a bid to revive growth.
Philippine authorities discovered at least three scam farms run by Chinese, Indonesian and Myanmar nationals, according a spokesman or the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 1, 2024
Philippines arrests over 150 foreigners in online gambling raid
Agents found dozens of people engaged in illegal activities on makeshift workstations inside a resort on the central island of Cebu.
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, outside a U.S. federal court in Santa Ana, California, in June
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 2, 2024
Bookmaker in Shohei Ohtani interpreter case to plead guilty
Bookmaker Mathew Bowyer worked with Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani's ex-interpreter and friend, who admitted to taking Ohtani's money to cover his gambling debts.
Devices used in a scam center in Manila that has been shut down by police. Scam centers have mushroomed across Southeast Asia, with crime syndicates luring, kidnapping or coercing workers into predatory online activity and raking in billions of dollars.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 25, 2024
Raid on Philippine gambling hub unravels elaborate scheme implicating mayor
The scandal has fueled calls for a ban on the online gambling industry over its links to financial scams, kidnapping, prostitution, human trafficking, torture and murder.
Tucupita Marcano, then with the Pirates, throws to first base during a game against the Giants in Pittsburgh in July last year.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 5, 2024
San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano banned for life for gambling
Michael Kelly, a pitcher for the Oakland Athletics, and three minor league players were also suspended for a year for gambling on baseball games, MLB said.
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, outside a U.S. federal court in Santa Ana, California, on Tuesday
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 5, 2024
Ohtani's ex-interpreter pleads guilty to stealing nearly $17 million
Ippei Mizuhara admitted to one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum 30-year prison sentence, and one count of filing a false tax return.
Thailand is the latest nation to consider competing for a pie of the global casino industry, which IBIS World estimates generated $263.3 billion in revenue last year.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 5, 2024
Thailand plans bill to legalize casinos, spokesman says
Any opening of casinos will be in line with its recent embrace of a more liberal landscape to revive its tourism industry.
Atlanta Braves second baseman David Fletcher throws for a double play against the Miami Marlins in Cumberland, Georgia, on April 23.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 21, 2024
MLB investigates ex-Angels infielder David Fletcher over gambling claims
Fletcher reportedly wagered through Matthew Bowyer, the same bookmaker who took bets from Ippei Mizuhara.
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, leaves federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 15, 2024
Ohtani interpreter appears in court over $17 million fraud
A lawyer for Ippei Mizuhara said the 39-year-old has reached a deal with prosecutors over his charges.
Ippei Mizuhara, seen during Shohei Ohtani's introductory news conference with the Dodgers in December 2023, has agreed to plead guilty to charges of bank fraud and filing a false tax return.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 9, 2024
Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter to plead guilty to bank fraud
Mizuhara agreed to plead guilty to one count of felony bank fraud and one count of filing a false tax return.
Raptors center Jontay Porter during a game against the Pistons in March. Porter wagered money on his own team to lose, pretended to be hurt for betting purposes and shared confidential information with gamblers, leading to a lifetime ban from the NBA.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 21, 2024
In latest gambling scandal, some see glimpse of sports’ future
There are those who worry that recent sports gambling scandals are just the tip of the iceberg.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani during a spring training game on March 12.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 15, 2024
Ohtani’s dizzying three weeks end in exoneration by authorities
At times, baseball’s biggest star seemed in danger of being tainted by a gambling scandal, before his longtime interpreter was charged with fraud.
Ippei Mizuhara, the 39-year-old former interpreter for Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani, was ordered released on $25,000 bond after his first court appearance to face a bank fraud charge accusing him of stealing $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star to cover illegal gambling expenses.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 13, 2024
Ohtani's ex-interpreter issues apology after release on $25,000 bond
Ippei Mizuhara was released on bond after appearing in court on a bank fraud charge accusing him of stealing $16 million to cover illegal gambling debts.
Ippei Mizuhara and Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani attend a news conference ahead of MLB's season-opening series in Seoul on March 16.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 12, 2024
Texts between Ippei Mizuhara and bookie show the walls closing in
Federal prosecutors say Ippei Mizuhara stole $16 million from Shohei Ohtani from November 2021 to January 2024.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, in December at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California
BASEBALL
Apr 12, 2024
How Ippei Mizuhara allegedly wired millions from Shohei Ohtani’s account
Crucially for Ohtani, a U.S. investigation clearly paints him as a victim without any involvement in or knowledge of his interpreter's gambling woes.

Longform

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A boom for business tourism in Japan?