The Ohtani investigation is the latest warning to MLB and other sports that as gambling becomes legalized in more states and teams partner with sports books, “larger scandals are inevitable"Getty Images
The betting scandal surrounding Dodgers P/DH Shohei Ohtani forces fans to question how MLB and other leagues that have “embraced legal sports betting go about protecting the authenticity, coherence and honesty of their games,” according to Kyle Goon of the BALTIMORE BANNER. Gambling is now “intrinsic to the business side of sports,” as the leagues themselves “opened the floodgates, in search of more viewers and a cut of the revenue.” While Ohtani’s now former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara made "bets with an illegal bookmaking operation in a state that does not allow sports betting," gambling in general is “not only permitted but encouraged by sports leagues.” It might seem as if the scandal that has engulfed Ohtani is a "canary in the coal mine of the risks of this intermingling,” but the "reality is that the signs have been there for some time.” It is “bad for baseball to have its biggest star wrestling with the perception that he might have been involved with gambling.” It "undermines the sport’s integrity," leading fans to "wonder if these world-class athletes could be compromised by the betting industry -- either from the promise of money or the pressure of debt” (BALTIMORE BANNER, 3/22).
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THE FIRST BIG ONE: The FINANCIAL TIMES’ Sara Germano wrote the scandal is a “major setback for MLB” and is “among the first big controversies in sports betting” in the U.S. since a federal ban on the practice was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018. Since then, betting companies have “proliferated” and big media companies such as Disney and sports leagues have "aligned themselves with betting operators through marketing agreements" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 3/22). In Boston, Peter Abraham wrote whatever shakes out over this investigation, this is the “latest warning" to MLB and other sports that as gambling becomes legalized in more states and teams partner with sports books, “larger scandals are inevitable.” There is "no evidence Ohtani was involved and Mizuhara denies betting on baseball." But if the “most notable player in the sport can be affected so directly, the threat is real.” Teams "clearly have to do a better job of vetting employees and controlling who is around players at the ballpark or associated with the team” (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/23).
COOKING THE GOLDEN GOOSE? In Chicago, Rick Morrissey wrote that considering Ohtani is the “best thing that’s happened to the game in decades,” it “brings into question how much MLB really wants to know.” The possibility of a “superstar gambling on the game he plays is the league's biggest fear,” one that would “gut a sport that is struggling to remain relevant.” At best, it is a “terrible look for baseball,” which has “put many of its eggs in Ohtani’s basket.” It is “hard to shake the idea that, because MLB has such a loud rooting interest in Ohtani’s innocence, it won’t hear of dissent on the topic” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/24). USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale wrote it is “hard for the Angels or anyone else who knows Ohtani to believe that this was a sheer matter of ignorance.” Nightengale: “How is it possible that Ohtani would be unaware that multiple payments of $500,000 were being wired to an alleged illegal bookmaker?” Ohtani, from his “baseball regimen to his marketing savvy,” is one of the “most intelligent men anyone has ever met.” It also is "unfathomable that Ohtani could be unaware of Mizuhara’s gambling habits after being almost inseparable" since coming to the U.S. No one is "believing that Ohtani only became aware of Mizuhara’s confession because of the language barrier, either.” Mizuhara may be his interpreter, but Ohtani “certainly understands English and speaks English with teammates and Dodgers staffers” (USA TODAY, 3/22).
OF THEIR OWN MAKING: Nightengale in a separate piece wrote MLB, along with other sports, “opened this Pandora’s Box by embracing gambling.” They “routinely show betting lines on their own TV network" with betting shows and game announcers letting fans know the live odds. Baseball officials have an annual spring training meeting telling their players they can “only bet legally with their league-sponsored DraftKings or FanDuel.” But “good luck finding anyone in the game, whether its players, front office executives, clubbies, scouts, broadcasters and player agents who adhere to it.” Nothing is "going to happen to Ohtani besides a possible fine” and his “pristine image, for the moment is taking a beating.” His biggest offense may "simply be helping out his best friend who has a gambling problem, and knowing that it was illegal to fund his debt going to an illegal bookmaker in Southern California” (USA TODAY, 3/24).
