Betting on Baseball Sumo Wrestlers
In the Japanese sports world, there continues to be intense fallout, revolving around sumo wrestlers and coaches betting on baseball games and baseball odds. Recently, in continuing their investigation, police searched the Onomatsu and other stables for information and evidence.
With this quickly boiling into the biggest scandal that sumo wrestling has ever faced, the Japanese public is recoiling in disgust from this new found revelation. It was revealed, on professional baseball games in Japan, various wrestlers and coaches have placed betting odds that summed up to as much as $50,000. An internal report by the Japanese Sumo Association revealed that as many as 65 of their members have been betting illegally.
Gangsters who have been masquerading as bookmakers is believed to be masterminded this gambling ring; it could mean serious trouble for Japan’s national sport, if ties between the sumo stables and organized crime become revealed, .
The investigation has been focused on Otake, a stable master and Kotomitsuki, who was dismissed last month by sumo’s governing body, and an ozeki level wrestler. On this matter, Mitsutomo Furuichi were held by the police, on charges of extorting over 3.5 million yen in hush money .
On the sport in Japan, the exposure of this betting and gambling ring has had serious effects. Japan TV canceled the broadcast over public outcry, which was planning on broadcasting a large sumo tournament previously. The associated press, covering this event, mentioned that this scandal has “deepened concerns that the sport has closer ties to gangsters than officials are willing to admit”. There will be serious consequences for Japan’s most popular sport, if indeed there is a tight relationship between gangsters and the sumo wrestlers.