Gaming regulators approve $7.8M fine against Caesars

The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday in a 4-1 vote ordered a $7.8 million fine for Caesars Entertainment Inc. for allowing an illegal bookmaker to gamble at its properties.

Commissioner Rosa Solis-Rainey opposed the motion, wanting a higher fine assessed and saying it shouldn’t have taken seven years for Caesars to discover the wrongdoing.

It was the third disciplinary action taken this year involving convicted illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer with fines of $10.5 million assessed to Resorts World Las Vegas and its parent company, Genting Berhad, in March, and an $8.5 million fine against MGM Resorts International in April.

Top officers speak

Caesars’ top executives appeared before the commission and apologized for embarrassing the state with its lengthy inaction.

Gary Carano, the chairman of Caesars’ board of directors, company CEO Tom Reeg, and chief legal officer Ed Quatmann each appeared before the commission with apologies.

“Before you hear from our team today, I want to state clearly the way our (anti-money-laundering) program operated in this instance was unacceptable,” Carano said. “On behalf of Caesars, our employers, our entire leadership team, board of directors, I sincerely apologize for our role in the Bowyer incident and the impact it had on the gaming industry in the state of Nevada.”

Reeg followed up after Carano.

“We know that this entire matter has been a stain on the state and I’m embarrassed that we’re a part of it and sorry that I’m in front of you for this purpose,” he said. “My directive to our team is clear and I want to make sure that it’s clear to you and on the record, we never sacrifice compliance for revenue. There is no customer that’s worth illegitimate profits. We didn’t catch Bowyer and we should have full stop.”

Quatmann then explained what measures were taken by the company to change its processes.

Earlier in the hour-long hearing, Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer explained how the board reached the $7.8 million fine amount — it was roughly three times the documented amount Caesars had won from Bowyer over seven years.

Commissioner George Markantonis said he was satisfied that Caesars has restructured its anti-money-laundering and “know your customer” procedures to prevent any illegal gambling from happening again.

‘Such a bruising’

“He’s (Bowyer) given our industry such a bruising. not just Caesars, but even the esteemed companies before you,” Markantonis said. “Our job, as I see it, is not only to protect our industry, but protect all those people who work in it. And we can’t let semi-wannabe gangsters like this guy come around and disrupt our organizations so badly. But I’m very satisfied with the questions that have been answered and the structure of the fine and how that fine was arrived at, I think, is very fair under the circumstances.”

The $7.8 million fine was the fifth highest against a Nevada licensee in history.

Payment of the fine settles a five-count complaint filed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Nov. 13.

Caesars also agreed to strengthen its anti-money-laundering controls at its eight Strip hotels as well as at its properties in Reno and managed tribal casinos in California.

“We fully cooperated with the Nevada Gaming Control Board throughout its investigation and are committed to maintaining strong anti-money laundering and ‘know your customer’ programs,” Caesars said in a statement issued Nov. 14. “We take our compliance responsibilities seriously and are dedicated to continuously strengthening our practices to meet and exceed the highest standards.”

As part of the settlement, Caesars did not admit or deny any of the allegations contained in the state’s complaint.

According to the complaint, Bowyer, who began serving a one-year prison sentence in October, “wagered and lost millions of dollars at Caesars subsidiary properties,” in Las Vegas, northern Nevada and California over the course of 100 separate days between 2017 and 2024.

Beginning in June 2019, Bowyer was categorized as “high risk” by Caesars, but the casino operator “failed to substantiate Bowyer’s source of funds and/or that his source of funds was consistent with his level of play.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.