I think it’s entirely possible that Shoei didn’t understand that paying his translator’s debt was illegal. Draftkings ads are everywhere. Players are allowed to gamble, just not on baseball.
His biggest issue is that Shoei has no way of proving that his translator wasn’t placing bets for him. I think that’s probably the biggest issue, and why we saw the knee jerk change of story from his lawyers, trying to insulate Shoei completely.
I would imagine the truth is likely the original story, and Shoei intended to help his best friend out of a mess, and now he’s gotten himself into a jam.