National News

Gambling scandal spreads in sumo

Several sumo stable masters are among those who admitted to gambling on baseball games in a recent survey conducted by the Japan Sumo Association (JSA), a JSA source revealed June 16.

The most recent scandal to hit the sumo world until now had been focused on wrestlers who had admitted to illegal gambling, but elders, including stable masters and tokoyama hairdressers, have also been found to be involved.

At an emergency executive meeting June 15, the JSA accepted an offer from ozeki Kotomitsuki's stable master, Sadogatake, for the wrestler to sit out the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in July and he has been banned from sumo pending the results of a police investigation into his alleged gambling activities on baseball.

Aside from Kotomitsuki, several other unidentified top-division wrestlers were among those who admitted similar wrongdoing, a JSA source said. (Kyodo News)

Shukan ST: June 25, 2010

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