Captain Nemo

What is Captain Nemo?

Under Japan’s penal code any betting that creates the possibility of gaining or losing property on a matter whose “outcome depends upon chance” may constitute gambling.

Online gambling more broadly remains illegal, with no sign of legalisation in either the short or long term. If anything, the government appears to be moving further away from the activity, and is actively considering website blocking to prevent illegal gambling in the country.

But through its love of pachinko, social gaming in Japan offers a strikingly different story.

About Captain Nemo

Since the Supreme Court’s PASPA decision in 2018, there has been an uptick on harassment against athletes from bettors. The collection of incidents, in the view of the industry, is typically construed as both troubling and prevalent. Against a backdrop of alarming threats in numerous sports, perhaps the most disconcerting occurred at the hands of Benjamin “Parlay” Patz, a California bettor.

Approximately 15 months after the high court’s ruling, Patz sent a series of explicit messages to four members of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays, threatening to “sever” their necks open. Accused by federal investigators of targeting more than 300 accounts of pro and college athletes, Patz pleaded guilty in 2021 to transmitting threats in interstate or foreign commerce. Although a judge ordered Patz to undergo mental health treatment and abstain from gambling, he did not sentence the bettor to prison.

Years later, former Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin convened a sports betting hearing in December 2024, the first federal hearing held on the subject in six years. Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, opened the hearing with an anecdote from March Madness the prior season. Despite recording a double-double in a win over Michigan State, former North Carolina center Armando Bacot received more than 100 threats on social media, Durbin told the committee. Bacot, who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, drew the ire of bettors for missing the “over” on his rebound total.

What is Captain Nemo?

Fabio Macorin, deputy secretary of the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA), has been elected to the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) board of trustees.

He brings extensive experience in law enforcement, the prevention of financial crimes, regulatory oversight and the development of Brazil’s newly regulated betting market.

At the SPA, Macorin plays a leading role in the implementation, supervision and enforcement of Brazil’s regulatory framework for betting.