For Major League Baseball, the $17 million stolen from Shohei Ohtani might not be the real crime; it could be the canary in the coal mine for a gambling epidemic the league itself is fueling.

Reportedly, Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, is behind bars after admitting he secretly siphoned off $17 million without Ohtani’s knowledge. But WFAN radio veteran Joe Benigno isn’t buying the official narrative about the Japanese star. And even more alarming is his prediction that MLB’s growing embrace of sports betting could trigger a crisis that dwarfs this scandal altogether.

“Let’s be honest about it. This interpreter is sitting in jail right now. You’re gonna tell me that Ohtani’s interpreter was able to gamble millions of dollars, and Ohtani had no idea about that? Come on, give me a break,”

Benigno pointed to the recent cases of two Guardians players, Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase, who were suspended earlier this year over gambling violations and are now facing prosecution.

From his perspective, if those players were punished, why wouldn’t Ohtani face similar consequences, since both situations involve gambling allegations in MLB?

The distinction is clear, though.

MLB, Baseball Herren, USA Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres Aug 22, 2025 San Diego, California, USA Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani 17 reacts after fouling off a ball during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. San Diego Petco Park California USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xDavidxFrerkerx 20250822_hlf_td6_204

Ohtani’s interpreter admitted that he kept Ohtani completely in the dark and carried out the scheme on his own. While Ohtani’s name inevitably got dragged into the mess, the real culprit was Mizuhara. However, in the cases of Ortiz and Clase, the players themselves were directly responsible.

What really caught attention, though, was Benigno’s bigger warning for MLB.

“It isn’t going away,” he noted. “It’s a multi, multi-billion-dollar business, and these leagues are making a lot of money from advertising… It’s only the tip of the iceberg before you’re gonna see some major issues with it.”

With betting companies pouring huge investments into sports leagues, including not just MLB, gambling is becoming increasingly mainstream and more accessible to everyone, be it fans or players. And the massive revenue appears to outweigh the concerns for now.

MLB is entering a new era, riding on sports betting

There’s a long history of MLB coming down hard on players who got caught up in gambling. For example, Pete Rose spent the rest of his life on the outside looking in because his suspension was never lifted. That shows how seriously baseball once treated anything related to betting.

But today, MLB is stepping into an entirely different landscape.

Betting is now permissible, but MLB has issued new guidelines to keep things in check. For example, authorized gaming operators have to cap wagers on individual pitches at $200, and those types of bets can’t be mixed into parlays. So, it’s a way of allowing gambling while trying to limit the kinds of bets that could raise integrity concerns.

Still, sports betting is here to stay, not just in baseball but across all major leagues.

According to GlobalData, MLB generates around $70 million annually just from its sports gaming partnerships. And it’s only expected to grow as betting becomes even more ingrained in the sports world.

As MLB cashes in on betting revenue, the league now faces the challenge of policing the very industry it promotes, a conflict that threatens to define baseball’s integrity for a new generation.