As a gambler, Mathew Bowyer bet big, often unsuccessfully, listing nearly half a million dollars in losses to two Las Vegas casinos in his 2011 bankruptcy.

As bookmaker, the Orange County man wagered that a client’s relationship with baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani would pay off by boosting Bowyer’s reputation in the gambling world.

Bowyer, who turns 49 next week, instead, ended up at the center of an international scandal over allegations by the Japanese-speaking Ohtani that a trusted friend and interpreter stole more than $4 million from Ohtani to pay down bets made with Bowyer.

A source associated with Bowyer said the now-fired interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, still has unpaid gambling debts, but would not say how much is owed.

Ohtani spent six years with the Los Angeles Angels before signing the richest contract in sports history with the Los Angeles Dodgers — $700 million over 10 years — in the offseason. And Mizuhara, who lives in Diamond Bar and graduated from Diamond Bar High School, has been at his side nearly all the way.

According to ESPN, wire transfers from Ohtani’s bank account were made to an associate of Bowyer purportedly to pay down Mizuhara’s gambling debt. Mizuhara initially told ESPN that Ohtani knew of the payments, but then recanted in a later interview. Ohtani’s attorneys then issued a statement that he was the victim of a “massive theft” and said they were reporting it to “authorities.”

Major League Baseball is conducting its own investigation into the gambling allegations involving Mizuhara.

Worn many hats

Square-jawed and unshaven, Bowyer has worn many hats over the years: bookie, former commodities trader, owner of a failed pest control business and operator of a Brazilian jujitsu studio called RYSK, where he is a white belt.

But it is his role in the Ohtani scandal that brought an unwelcome horde of reporters to his doorstep in San Juan Capistrano one recent morning and put a global spotlight on a federal investigation by the IRS, FBI and Homeland Security into Bowyer and illegal sports betting. California is one of only 12 states where sports betting is unlawful.

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