Major League Baseball’s policy on gambling is posted on the wall in every team’s clubhouse, offering anyone who enters a reminder of where the league stands on betting and the potential consequences of misconduct.
League Rule 21 states that players and team employees are prohibited from placing wagers, even legal bets, on baseball and from wagering with illegal or offshore bookmakers. It also mentions the possible punishments, which may be largely left up to the league’s front office.
How the policy may apply to recent revelations involving the interpreter for Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani remains to be seen, but reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about Ippei Mizuhara’s alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker have cast a shadow over the team’s season-opener this week in Seoul.
So, what is the league’s policy on gambling?
Does MLB’s policy allow sports gambling?
Yes, but not on baseball or wagers with illegal or offshore bookmakers. For example, bets placed on NCAA March Madness brackets, the Super Bowl and fantasy football would be allowed under the policy, as long as the wager isn’t with an illegal bookmaker.
In the Mizuhara case, the Los Angeles Times and ESPN reported alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara told ESPN that he gambled on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football, but never bet on baseball.
“I never bet on baseball,” Mizuhara told ESPN. “That’s 100%. I knew that rule… We have a meeting about that in spring training.”
ESPN reported that the allegations involving Mizuhara centered on wire transfers from Ohtani’s account. The transfers, worth at least $4.5 million, were allegedly paid to a bookmaking operation in Southern California under federal investigation, ESPN reported.
Ohtani’s attorneys have released a statement saying he was a victim of “massive theft.”
“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a…
