The dust finally settled on the gambling scandal tied to MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani in 2025, putting an end to a controversy that exposed the operation of an illegal sports betting operation, resulting in millions of regulatory fines and prison sentences.
A contingent of major Las Vegas casinos received a reality check in 2025, with anti-money laundering (AML) protocols and standards called into question for allowing an illegal bookmaker Matthew Bowyer, to wager at their facilities with funds used from his illicit gambling operation. The casinos failed to verify Bowyer’s source of funds and allowed wagering with the improper funds, resulting in disciplinary action by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB). The AML failures by the Las Vegas casinos may have continued had Bowyer’s illicit gambling not been exposed after his client, Ippei Mizuhara, was arrested for stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts owed to Bowyer.
Mizuhara worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers as Ohtani’s Japanese interpreter. In February, Mizuhara was sentenced to 57 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal bank and tax fraud charges. The former interpreter is also required to pay $16.98 million to Ohtani as restitution and pay $1.15 million to the IRS for penalties related to fraudulent tax returns. Mizuhara did not bet on baseball, but Bowyer taking his action as a bookie sent shockwaves across the professional sports and U.S. commercial gaming industries.
How Bowyer’s illegal gambling operation got exposed
Bowyer had his illegal bookmaking business exposed after bank statements showed him receiving several $500,000 payments marked as loans from Ohtani’s account. Mizuhara stole money from Ohtani’s account by changing the account’s confirmation settings. Bowyer was aware of Mizuhara’s misuse of Ohtani’s money and turned a blind eye to the former interpreter stealing money as he was paying his gambling debts periodically.
The account transactions linked to Bowyer led to his home being raided by federal authorities, triggering a domino effect of disciplinary penalties for a group of Las Vegas casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment and Resorts World. Bowyer operated his unregulated gambling scheme for at least five years and had more than 700 clients.
Bowyer’s gambling sparks industry-wide AML concerns
Bowyer’s illegal gambling operation became tied to Resorts World when he siphoned some of the funds from his business to gamble at the casino’s Las Vegas property. Bowyer funneled the illicit funds through a marker account with Resorts World and used money from the account to withdraw chips to gamble with. Resorts World failed to verify Bowyer’s source of funds, including a $1 million front-money deposit, violating its AML policies.
Former Resorts World President Scott Sibella allowed Bowyer and other bookies to gamble at the Las Vegas casino using improper funding. As a result, Sibella was fired for violating company policies, while the NGCB responded by imposing one of the largest fines in Nevada gaming history. In March, Resorts World agreed to a $10.5 million settlement with the NGCB after an investigation by the regulator found evidence of “unsuitable methods of operation” for a failure to meet the standards of its AML program. Resorts World overhauled its leadership team amid the AML failures.
Sibella, who also allowed bookies to gamble at the MGM Grand and the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas using illicit funds, was sentenced to one year of probation for failing to file reports of suspicious transactions. He was ordered to pay a $9,500 fine and a $100 special assessment. Sibella also had his gaming license revoked by the NGCB and can apply for a license in five years.
Caesars Entertainment also found itself embroiled in the controversy related to Bowyer’s gambling in Las Vegas. Last month, the NGCB approved a proposed settlement of $7.8 million, resolving a five-count complaint that alleged Bowyer used $2.6 million in illicit funds to gamble with Caesars over seven years, triggering AML violations for Caesars.
The NGCB reached the $7.8 million settlement by tripling Bowyer’s winnings at Caesars.
The gaming and entertainment company responded to its AML violations by taking ownership and iterating that the systems and protocols it had in place to prevent the gambling infractions were inadequate and failed. The settlement between the NGCB and Caesars included operational changes for Caesars to prevent similar infractions. Caesars also made enhancements to AML procedures for its properties outside of Nevada.
Bowyer to reflect on gambling behavior from prison
Between June 2022 and October 2023, Bowyer reportedly lost more than $7.9 million at Las Vegas casinos and owed more than $1 million in unpaid taxes. The former bookie’s illegal gambling operation led to a guilty plea to federal charges for operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering and subscribing to a false tax return. In August, Bowyer was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.6 million in restitution. As part of his plea deal, Bowyer agreed to forfeit $257,923 in cash and $14,830 worth of casino chips that were seized by law enforcement during their raid of his home. In October, Bowyer reported to the Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc, California, to serve his sentence.
MGM Resorts and the Wynn Las Vegas also recently reached AML-related settlements with the NGCB. Wynn agreed to a $5.5 million proposed settlement with the NGCB for facilitating improper international monetary transactions and allowing proxy betting, while MGM Resorts reached a settlement agreement that was valued at $8.5 million for allowing another bookie, Wayne Nix, to gamble at its properties using funds from his illicit gambling business.
