Koki Niwa has been referred to prosecutors

[KY3333]

【独自】卓球の丹羽孝希選手、書類送検　オンラインカジノ賭博疑い - ライブドアニュース

千葉県警が、卓球の丹羽孝希を賭博容疑で書類送検したと分かった。2023年初夏に、海外のオンラインカジノサイトで賭けをした疑い。任意の事情聴取で容疑を認め、スポーツの勝敗予想などで賭けたとみられる

news.livedoor.com

On April 29, Chiba Prefectural Police referred 30-year-old Koki Niwa, a bronze medalist in the men's table tennis team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, to prosecutors on suspicion of gambling at an overseas online casino site, according to an interview with an investigator. He admitted the charges in a voluntary interview. He is believed to have placed bets on sports games, such as predicting winners and losers.

　Niwa told Kyodo News, "I did it without knowing it was illegal, and I regret it. I am sorry to my fans.

　According to the investigators, the documents were sent to the prosecutor's office on March 20. The court issued a strict disciplinary action opinion calling for prosecution. The suspect is suspected of connecting to an online casino site from Japan in the early summer of 2023 and placing bets using crypto assets (virtual currency).

　The involvement of Niwa, a resident of Chiba Prefecture, surfaced amid a nationwide investigation of users of online casinos after the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department uncovered an online casino payment agency.

 

[zeio]

He must have thought it was akin to online pachinko, which is Japan's gambling grey area.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

The sports gambling market is big.
Especially table tennis.

Sports stars should all know this, since it is a requirement to declare and sign (understanding) on the subject when you play in ittf, wtt and various pro leagues.

even if he didnt take part in table tennis gambling, it is risky.
Many players do take part, and it is all reliant on “not telling on you”

 

[JJ Ng]

So Mizutani got into trouble. Then ZJK got into trouble. Now it is Koki Niwa?

 

[NetProphet]

What am I missing?
Why does it matter if he places bets?

I don't do it myself and personally I think it's a fools game but if someone wants to do it then who cares 🤷

 

[zeio]

So Mizutani got into trouble. Then ZJK got into trouble. Now it is Koki Niwa?

Mizutani never got into trouble for his "男女トラブル" because of his status. He actually got the dude that tried to extort him arrested. Yoshimura M. wasn't as lucky.

 

[KY3333]

賭博容疑の丹羽孝希、所属の岡山リベッツが契約解除を発表　社長は無期限の１００％、監督は年内の３０％減俸処分 - スポーツ報知

　卓球でＴリーグの岡山リベッツは３０日、岡山市内で会見を行い、海外のオンラインカジノサイトで賭けをしたとして賭博容疑で書類送検された同チーム所属の丹羽孝希について、この日をもって契約を解除したことを発

hochi.news

Ｔリーグの岡山リベッツは３０日、岡山市内で記者会見を開き、海外のオンラインカジノサイトで賭博行為をしたとして、所属選手の丹羽孝希選手との契約を解除したと発表した。会見には羽場誠社長と白神孝介監督が出席。羽場社長は無期限１００％減俸、白神監督は年内３０％減俸の処分となった。

 

[Arkady]

What am I missing?
Why does it matter if he places bets?

I don't do it myself and personally I think it's a fools game but if someone wants to do it then who cares 🤷

I get the impression that the article is implying (although not clearly stated) about "fixed" matches.
Otherwise I can't see why it would be illegal for table tennis athletes to bet in other sports.

 

[nablaz]

What am I missing?
Why does it matter if he places bets?

I don't do it myself and personally I think it's a fools game but if someone wants to do it then who cares 🤷

It's because gambling is technically illegal in Japan.
Very obviously, pachinko isn't gambling and is thus allowed... but don't you dare to try and bet on horse races!

 

[zeio]

Niwa gets a 6-month suspension from JTTA.

本会登録選手に対する処分について
https://jtta.or.jp/news/30903
資格停止6カ月。日卓協が丹羽孝希の処分を発表
https://world-tt.com/blog/news/archives/261780

 

[lodro]

gambling is technically illegal in Japan.

Only online betting on horse races, bicycle races, motorcycle races and motorboat races operated and self-regulated by the Japanese government or municipal bodies is permitted. Other , especially online gambling is prohibited because the government has not yet found a way of taxing it. 😂

 

[netdriver]

feeling sad for koki... from one gambler to another

 

[Brs]

Only online betting on horse races, bicycle races, motorcycle races and motorboat races operated and self-regulated by the Japanese government or municipal bodies is permitted. Other , especially online gambling is prohibited because the government has not yet found a way of taxing it. 😂

fwiw, until very recently this was generally also true in America. But instead of pachinko we had state-run lotteries that bring in billions.

now of course we have UK-style bet on anything from an app gambling. imo, this is not an improvement.

at the beginning they would give away $200 to sign up. you have to place bets with it, but obvs can put $100 on each side of a sports match and walk out with their $200. I did not sign up for the free $200. the mere fact they can offer such an incentive proves how addictive it is once you start. no thank you.

back to the OP - don't highly efficient Japanese prosecutors have like a 99.5% conviction rate? what penalties does koki face for this infraction?

 

[SleepyMaster]

My coach was making a bets on our Ukrainian league matches and since he knows all the players from their childhood he winning most bets that he did. After some time he get banned forever so making a bit of money on a table tennis knowledge was over lol

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

its off season now, no harm to be honest

depending on the league schedule he may miss 1 or 2 Sep matches in his next signing
But October he would be back.

 

[turbozed]

feeling sad for koki... from one gambler to another

I wouldn't feel too bad for him if he made more money off betting than he would've made in 6 months of TT earnings.

Considering that only 3 to 5% of sports bettors are profitable in the long run, it's pretty safe to assume that he didn't though.

Very likely he got double whammy of losing money betting and then getting punished for it by not being able to work.

 

[lodro]

I wouldn't feel too bad for him if he made more money off betting than he would've made in 6 months of TT earnings.

Considering that only 3 to 5% of sports bettors are profitable in the long run, it's pretty safe to assume that he didn't though.

Very likely he got double whammy of losing money betting and then getting punished for it by not being able to work.

As a "semi retired " player can he still earn a living from playing ping pong ???
This surprises me because I always thought that TT players were under paid in comparison to many other sports.

 

[turbozed]

As a "semi retired " player can he still earn a living from playing ping pong ???
This surprises me because I always thought that TT players were under paid in comparison to many other sports.

I think he's just retired from WTT/international play.

TT players are definitely underpaid, but I'm guessing he gets paid in sponsorships for representing Victas along with other brands while he competes in local events or for T.League. So in that sense he would be earning a living being Koki Niwa while playing competing, rather than through prize pools.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

he still plays in leagues and still can get good contracts
wait another week

 

[ThePongCommenter]

he still plays in leagues and still can get good contracts
wait another week

Still a major update to come on this case...