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CG Technology offers $1.75M settlement to Nevada regulators

A new $1.75 million settlement offer is on the table from CG Technology.

It’ll be up to the Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday to determine whether to accept it.

The settlement is in response to a four-count complaint issued by the state Gaming Control Board on Aug. 8. The Control Board complaint said CGT was taking wagers from outside the state, taking bets after events had concluded, made incorrect payouts to 1,483 bettors and misconfigured a satellite sportsbook betting station for the 2018 Super Bowl. The company admitted to all the accusations. CGT has waived its right to a public hearing on the settlement.

The revised offer, dated Nov. 8, was disclosed late Friday after commissioners rejected an earlier offer in August. The new offer includes an agreement to donate $250,000 to the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling within 60 days for a total $2 million outlay.

The offer

The Las Vegas-based company operates sportsbooks for the M, Hard Rock, Tropicana, Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, The Venetian, Palazzo, Palms and Silverton in Southern Nevada.

Representatives of Las Vegas Sands and Hard Rock declined comment on the revised settlement. The others could not be reached on the Veterans Day holiday.

Under terms of the new settlement offer, the company would have three months to transition to a new unaffiliated sports pool wagering system. CGT would be required to keep one terminal using the old system active at all its locations to pay players who have won bets while the system migration occurs.

If the old system is sold or transferred, the Control Board must be notified within 10 days.

The stipulation of settlement also orders CGT within 60 days to implement new internal controls to prevent operational issues and have staff training on a quarterly basis. Training sessions must be documented and maintained for five years and made available to Control Board agents on demand.

As part of the settlement, CGT also has agreed to establish the position of corporate social responsibility officer, reporting to the CEO. That new executive would focus on enhancing responsible and ethical gaming, employee training, identifying opportunities for philanthropy and local community engagement, encouraging charitable and civic participation and promoting diversity and environmental sustainability.

CGT also said it would implement semiannual training of the CEO, the chief financial officer, chief legal officer, chief compliance officer and the new social responsibility officer “to ensure continued adherence and implementation of ‘best practices’ in the areas of responsible and ethical gaming, gaming policies and procedures.”

The Gaming Commission will consider the new offer Thursday.

Third time for discipline

Commissioners rejected a previous settlement that included a $250,000 fine on Aug. 23.

At that time, the five-member commission chastised company executives for the amount of the proposed fine with one commissioner, John Moran, calling for the revocation of CGT’s gaming license. Commissioners could still consider revoking the company’s license.

Commission Chairman Tony Alamo pointed out that it was the third time in four years that the state Gaming Control Board had filed a complaint against CGT. The company already has paid fines of $5.5 million and $1.5 million. Former president and CEO Lee Amaitis was forced out after the second complaint in 2016.

Company executives said most of the problems were the result of mistakes from a third-party sports pool wagering system CGT has used.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.

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

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