As expected, bookmaker Mathew Bowyer pleaded guilty to three charges last Friday for his role in a sweeping probe into the illegal California sports betting market.
Described as one of the nation’s largest bettor-bookmakers, Bowyer’s operation allegedly accepted millions of dollars in wagers from Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter of Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Shohei Ohtani.
During an Aug. 9 hearing, Bowyer pleaded guilty to operating an illegal gambling business, transactional money laundering, and filing a false tax return. Based on federal sentencing guidelines, Bowyer could theoretically receive a prison sentence of approximately 18 years. But since Bowyer plans to cooperate with federal authorities, the sentence could be reduced to a range of 30 to 37 months, according to Diane Bass, his attorney.
“Mr. Bowyer is very relieved to finally accept responsibility for his conduct,” Bass told a pool of reporters outside a Santa Ana courthouse. “He is looking forward to receiving his sentence so he can put this chapter behind him.”
Next Steps in Bowyer’s Case
Bowyer made the plea at the heart of pennant races in Major League Baseball and several weeks before the start of football season. According to his plea agreement, Bowyer operated an unlicensed and illegal bookmaking business that focused on sports betting and violated a California law that prohibits bookmaking.
Bowyer's gambling business remained in operation for at least five years until October 2023, and at times, had more than 700 bettors. While the scale of Bowyer’s operations are still not entirely clear, he had unreported income of $4.03 million in tax year 2022, including $3.8 million in wire transfers into one of his bank accounts, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Bowyer’s sophisticated ring included dozens of underlings, including bookies, sub-bookies, agents, and collectors, according to a source who spoke to on the condition of anonymity.
Sign Up For The Sports Handle Newsletter!
Following the hearing, federal prosecutors on the case did not divulge the scope of any further indictments, or if any others are imminent. Although the operations handled football wagers in bulk, the Bowyer Gambling Business favored baseball as its sport of choice, according to the source.