Japanese Professional Baseball Players Suspended For Betting on High School and Professional Baseball
Satoshi Fukuda, a pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League, has been accused of betting on baseball. Fukuda allegedly lost so much betting on high school baseball, that he started betting on professional games, including ones involving his own team.
Teammate Shoki Kasahara is said to have introduced Fukuda to an employee at a tax accounting firm who “enticed” Fakuda into betting. The acquaintance contacted the team because Fukuda had not paid his gambling debts which reached over ¥1,000,000 ($157,000). According to Google, Fukuda’s 2013 salary was ¥40,000,000 ($6.29 million.) Both Fukuda and Kasahara have been suspended.