Gambling Scandal rocks Japanese Baseball

Japan is just days away from their version of the World Series, however, all attention is currently on a gambling scandal that’s rocked the sport.

Nippon Professional Baseball has announced that pitchers from the Yomiuri Giants have bet on the outcome of games.

The scandal broke when Satoshi Fukuda, a pitcher for the Giants, was wagering on both Nippon and Major League Baseball games. It doesn’t appear that Fukuda’s bets altered any games in the NPB since he didn’t make any appearances for the Giants; however, what he’s done is clearly in violation of league rules.

Far more disturbing is that Shoki Kasahara and Ryuya Matsumoto – actual contributors to Yomiuri – have also bet on games. According to Yomiuri president Hiroshi Kubo, they did not participate in any match-fixing, though.

“This is extremely regrettable,” said NPB commissioner Katsuhiko Kumazaki. “Baseball holds a special place thanks to the it has had for a long time from many fans.”

According to the Seattle Times, Kasahara bet on 10 professional baseball games between April and October, while he also wagered on 10 high school games too. Matsumoto is believed to have bet on more than 10 pro games between June and October.

Fukuda wagered on 10 NPB contests and 10 MLB games in hopes of winning back more than $8,000 that he lost by betting on high school games in August.

In Japan, gambling on professional sports is illegal. So not only are the Giants investigating the matter further, but the Japanese police are also involved too.

John Coates, vice president of the International Olympic Committee, doesn’t believe that this baseball betting scandal will ultimately leave a black mark on the game.

“This is a problem that is frowned on in sports in Japan and it’s not going to effect the decision to be taken with baseball,” Coates said during a preview of Tokyo’s Olympic preparations last week.

The worst betting scandal in baseball history is the Chicago Black Sox Scandal of 1919. This incident still resonates in the MLB and is a big reason why American professional sports leagues are so against sports betting. Luckily, it doesn’t look like the NPB’s betting scandal will have nearly as harsh of long-term consequences.