Federal prosecutors are urging a California judge to impose a prison sentence far below federal guidelines for bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, whose gambling operation reached high-profile clients and drew scrutiny to major Las Vegas casinos.

Bowyer, 50, pleaded guilty last year to charges that included running an unlawful sports betting business, money laundering, and filing a false tax return. Prosecutors argue that his decision to accept responsibility, provide restitution, and assist the government in related prosecutions warrants a lighter sentence of 15 months, followed by supervised release, rather than the 41 to 51 months outlined in his pre-sentence report. His sentencing is scheduled for August 29.

From High-Stakes Bets to Federal Court

For years, Bowyer ran an extensive bookmaking enterprise that placed and accepted wagers on sporting events, often with the help of sub-agents, including casino hosts who referred gamblers, collected losses, and distributed winnings. According to court documents, the business drew in hundreds of bettors, including more than 700 clients and Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

Mizuhara admitted to stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani to fuel his gambling habit, ultimately receiving a 57-month federal sentence. Prosecutors also secured a guilty plea from professional poker player and bookmaker Damien LeForbes, who awaits sentencing later this year.

Authorities say Bowyer’s gambling network laundered money through Las Vegas properties, including Resorts World and MGM Grand. Investigators allege those casinos allowed him to gamble despite knowing his background, leading to multimillion-dollar settlements. MGM Resorts agreed to pay a combined $15.95 million in fines to federal and state regulators, while Resorts World settled with the Nevada Gaming Commission for $10.5 million.

Cooperation That Cut Time

Prosecutors highlighted Bowyer’s role in providing “significant, timely, and credible” information that advanced their cases against both Mizuhara and LeForbes. Court filings reveal Bowyer gave voluntary interviews beginning in late 2023, which helped investigators interpret text messages and execute a December 2023 search warrant on LeForbes. Additional details followed in January 2024, ultimately aiding in LeForbes’ pre-indictment plea deal.

In interviews, Bowyer acknowledged his cooperation but resisted the “informant” label. “I know that it says that I cooperated against Damien LeForbes, which, technically, yes I did,” Bowyer said according to Nevada Current. “It wasn’t like I ran to the United States government and said, ‘Here’s Damien LeForbes on a platter,’ and that I wanted to give him up, or be an informant or something like that. Because I would never do that.”

Bowyer added, “I would never want to implicate Damien LeForbes, who was a friend of mine in the former matter. Whatever he’s doing, or whatever crimes that someone else is committing is not my business. What I’m doing and what I’m dealing with is my sole concern and business. And I’m just trying to get past it and move forward.”

A Broader Casino Scandal

Bowyer’s name has surfaced repeatedly in Nevada’s ongoing scrutiny of Strip properties and their compliance with anti-money-laundering regulations. Resorts World and MGM Grand were singled out by regulators for allegedly ignoring Bowyer’s reputation as an illegal bookmaker while still permitting him to gamble extensively.

The controversy also touched his family. State regulators charged Bowyer’s wife, Nicole, after she accepted him as a client while employed as a casino host at Resorts World. Her settlement included the revocation of her casino agent registration.

Bowyer has maintained that while he provided federal agents with information about casino executives and hosts, he refrained from disclosing details about other bookmakers. “It makes me look like I’m a rat,” he said in a phone interview. But he emphasized that his agreement was limited: “not rat about anybody else, including other book makers.”

High-stakes gambler Robert “R.J.” Cipriani, who has worked as a confidential government source, confirmed that account. “I met with Matt Bowyer over a year ago and he said he told his lawyer he wasn’t giving up his players or his friends, just the dirty casino executives,” Cipriani said.

Balancing Punishment and Cooperation

Despite the scope of Bowyer’s operation — which prosecutors say generated hundreds of millions in bets and more than $4 million in unreported income in 2022 alone — officials acknowledged his willingness to cooperate and pay restitution. To date, Bowyer has repaid over $1.6 million to the IRS in taxes, penalties, and interest.

Federal prosecutors concluded that a shorter prison term strikes the right balance. “A low-end custodial sentence of 15 months is appropriate here, balancing the seriousness and multi-faceted nature of his conduct and need for specific and general deterrence, with defendant’s personal and mitigating circumstances, and having already accounted for his acceptance of responsibility, lack of criminal history, and assistance to the government,” the filing states.

As the sentencing date approaches, Bowyer remains at the center of one of the most high-profile sports betting scandals to hit Las Vegas in recent years — one that not only toppled Ohtani’s trusted interpreter but also spotlighted casino practices and friendships fractured by federal pressure.