Prosecutors Decide Against Indicting Japanese Baseball Players for Online Gambling

Prosecutors have decided not to press charges against four Japanese baseball players arrested for gambling online while using overseas-based casino apps, with a leading baseball coach the latest to face a gambling wrap.

The four players, Shuta Tonosaki (aged 32), Sena Tsuge (28), Ryosuke Kodama (27), and Shinya Hasegawa (23), all play for the Saitama Seibu Lions in Nippon Professional Baseball. They were all charged by the police in Saitama last month, along with an unnamed male team employee.

The latter is thought to be part of the Lions’ backroom staff. The Japanese media outlet NHK reported that the Saitama District Public Prosecutors’ Office announced it would not indict the group in a statement released on July 24. The office did not disclose its reasons.

Japanese Baseball Gambling Probes Continue

On July 25, meanwhile, police formally charged Shinichiro Koyama, the head pitching coach at the Chunichi Dragons, with online gambling-related offenses.

Koyama has confessed to placing real-money bets on an online casino site using his smartphone in September 2024.

According to a separate NHK report, police stated that Koyama admitted to knowing that betting was illegal. Another Chunichi Dragons staff member also made a similar confession to the police in March this year. While an investigation summary was sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the police and team have not released this individual’s identity.

Police believe that the cases are unrelated and that neither knew that the other was using online casino sites.

The Chunichi Dragons released a statement, claiming that the team would cooperate fully with the prosecution’s investigation. The team said: “We deeply regret that we were unable to thoroughly inform our players and employees that online casinos are a form of [illegal] gambling. We offer our sincerest apologies to our fans.”

Stars Disgruntled with Public Shaming

Controversy about the nature of police crackdowns on online gambling continues to brew in Japan.

In the past few years, Tokyo has tightened its regulation of online gambling. Almost all forms of online betting are illegal in Japan.

Possibly as part of an attempt to raise public awareness and deter would-be bettors, police and prosecutors have sought to investigate some of the country’s biggest sports franchises and entertainment agencies.

This has led many teams and agencies to take pre-emptive action. Many have launched internal audits. And, upon discovering evidence of gambling, they have urged players and stars to turn themselves in to the police.

But many stars have complained that their teams and agencies reneged on promises to keep their identities a secret from the press.

This has led to acrimonious fall-outs between some of the nation’s top players and their teams.

Some lawmakers have claimed that naming stars in the media is vital. They claim the practice helps raise awareness of the illegality of gambling.