Strip casino giant facing $7.8M fine for allowing illegal bookmaker to gamble

One of the largest casino operators on the Strip has agreed to settle a regulatory complaint stemming from its involvement with an illegal bookmaker.

Caesars Entertainment will pay a $7.8 million fine and implement enhanced anti-money laundering controls, according to a stipulation for settlement filed Thursday with the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission. Regulators will consider approving the settlement at a public meeting on Nov. 20.

In a five-count, 21-page complaint filed the same day as the stipulation of settlement, state gaming officials allege to have found “instances of failures of control,” in allowing Mathew Bowyer, a since-convicted illegal bookmaker, to gamble at Caesars Palace and other casinos operated by Caesars Entertainment for a period of more than seven years, spanning from “sometime prior to 2017,” to Jan. 22, 2024, when Bowyer was reportedly banned from all Caesars properties.

Reno-based Caesars Entertainment, operator of eight casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, responded Friday, saying, in part, “integrity and regulatory compliance are paramount.”

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

“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 Entertainment said in a statement Friday. “We take our compliance responsibilities seriously and are dedicated to continuously strengthening our practices to meet and exceed the highest standards.”

Caesars Entertainment is the third Las Vegas casino operator, joining MGM Resorts International and Resorts World Las Vegas, along with its parent company Genting Berhad, to face regulatory discipline for failing to adhere to anti-money laundering protocols with Bowyer, the illicit bookmaker whose extensive client list included Ippei Mizuhara, the Japanese interpreter convicted of stealing an estimated $17 million from Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani. Earlier this year, MGM paid $8.5 million for its AML failures while Resorts World settled for $10.5 million, the second-highest fine in Nevada gaming history.

According to the Nov. 10 NGCB complaint, Bowyer “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 Entertainment, 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.”

After being arrested in 2024, Bowyer, 50, pleaded guilty to federal charges of running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return. He began serving a one-year prison sentence in October.

Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.