Traders Banned From Watching World Series Amid Ohtani Craze

(Bloomberg) -- As an estimated 12% of Japan’s population tunes in to watch baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani’s first World Series, one group is missing out: traders in Tokyo who can’t view the games on their mobiles or on TV.

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On the trading floor of Deutsche Bank AG in central Tokyo, the TVs are fixed on financial news channels, according to an employee at the German lender. Traders also can’t access their mobile phones while they’re in the dealing room, leaving them with almost no way to watch the baseball championship in real time.

It’s a compliance issue, to prevent traders from conducting unapproved deals or leaking information. The rules are largely the same at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp. as well as another overseas bank and domestic brokerage contacted by Bloomberg. That means dealers aren’t able to witness live the face-off between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees that attracted an average of 15.9 million viewers in Japan for the second game, around 12% of the population, according to statistics released by Major League Baseball and Fox Corp.’s sports division.

In Tokyo on Wednesday, many Japanese fans watched the game and its jam-packed stadium on TV and online despite the match starting a little after 9 a.m. local time.

“I like baseball as I played it in high school and university, so I wish I could watch the World Series this time,” said Motonari Sakai, the Tokyo-based chief manager of the foreign-exchange and financial products trading division at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust. But Sakai said he can’t watch the games on the trading floor and in any case he’s busy following the yen’s swings against the dollar since Japan’s lower house election that saw the ruling coalition lose its majority.

The Yankees won Game 4 of the series, defeating the Dodgers, Ohtani’s team, 11-4. It was the New York side’s first victory in the best-of-seven playoff, while its LA rival has won three times. The popularity this year of Ohtani, known for his rare ability to both pitch and hit at an elite level, has created an economic impact in the US and Japan of around ¥116.8 billion ($762 million), according to estimates by emeritus professor Katsuhiro Miyamoto at Kansai University.

Some traders said they’re resorting to checking news feeds on their financial data terminals for game updates. Others are putting off viewing until work is over.

“I’m looking forward to watching the sports news when I get home tonight,” Sakai said.

(Updates with starting time of game.)

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