Who is Matthew Bowyer? Everything we know about bookie tied to Ohtani-Mizuhara gambling scandal

Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, find themselves in one of the MLB's biggest scandals in recent years. Mizuhara has found himself out of a job after allegedly being linked to placing millions of dollars in illegal bets with a California-based bookmaker named Matthew Bowyer.

"The IRS on Thursday confirmed that Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation." - @NBCLA

So who is this man in the middle of the controversy that has placed Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara at the forefront of MLB headlines? Matthew Bowyer is the illegal bookmaker whom Ippei Mizuhara allegedly placed over $4.5 million in bets with over the years.

Bowyer, a 48-year-old man from the California city of San Juan Capistrano, has been the target of a federal investigation into an illegal gambling ring. The home of Bowyer was reportedly raided by authorities in October 2023 as part of the investigation, with the teams taking several important items, including phones and computers.

“The most important thing I want people to know is Mr. Bowyer never met Shohei,” Diane Bass, Matthew Bowyer’s attorney said. “The only person he dealt with was Ippei.” - @HighSierraMan

Matthew Boywer's attorneys confirmed that he had met with Ippei Mizuhara to place bets, however, they were very clear that he had never met Shohei Ohtani. According to multiple reports, Bowyer has been known to resorts and casinos in Las Vegas, with NBC Los Angeles noting that he filed for bankruptcy in 2011 as the result of $425,000 in gambling losses.

Shohei Ohtani addressed the media for the first time following the Ippei-Bowyer allegations

After the news of the ties between Ippei Mizuhara and bookmaker Matthew Bowyer was made public last week, the MLB universe had been rocked. On Monday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar addressed the media for the first time since the scandal broke, reading a prewritten statement and not taking any questions during the press conference.

The two-time MVP condemned the alleged actions of Mizuhara, stating his sadness over the fact that someone he had trusted for so long could do something like this. Ohtani's former interpreter is being accused of a "massive theft" of the star's money, something he reportedly did as the result of gambling debts.

"Per Tisha Thompson’s ESPN article regarding Ippei Mizuhara, Ippei did not bet on baseball games: “Sources close to the gambling operation told ESPN that Bowyer dealt directly with Mizuhara, who placed bets on international soccer matches and other sports — but not baseball.”" - @js9inningsmedia