Caesars Entertainment has become the latest prominent Las Vegas major to have been hit with a penalty by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) over failures related to anti-money laundering practices tied to the now-sentenced and jailed gambler, Mathew Bowyer.
Caesars is the third Las Vegas property to be targeted over Bowyer
The enforcement action is floated at a value of $7.8-million with the NGCB, with Caesars Entertainment joining MGM Resorts and Resorts World Las Vegas to have been hit over, allowing Bowyer to gamble without conducting sufficient background checks, despite early signs that the source of funds provided by the gambler was not accounted for.
The penalty has not been finalized, however, as the NGCB will be convening on Thursday, November 20, to deliberate on the fine’s details, including its size. As a reminder, Bowyer was jailed in October and is currently serving a one-year sentence.
Bowyer’s name is tied to the Shohei Ohtani scandal, involving the athlete’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, from whom he supposedly received $325m. In a statement, the NGCB determined the reason for the enforcement action:
"The board’s investigation revealed that Caesars and/or its subsidiary properties, including Caesars Palace, had identified, as early as April 2017 and on multiple subsequent occasions until he was banned by Caesars, suspicions regarding Bowyer’s activities, including that there was a lack of information regarding his source of funds and/or that his source of funds failed to justify his level of play."
The Board is looking into multiple failures tied to the case, including Caesars Entertainment’s refusal to ban Bowyer, check his source of funds, or perform extensive due diligence. Caesars also failed to investigate the case.
Caesars is determined to uphold regulatory compliance
The company is aware of the ongoing investigation and decision pending by the Board, and has already released a statement addressing the situation:
"At Caesars Entertainment, integrity and regulatory compliance are paramount. 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’ programmes. We take our compliance responsibilities seriously and are dedicated to continuously strengthening our practices to meet and exceed the highest standards."
Bowyer is said to have operated an illegal bookmaking business, which he has run for years. He was finally caught as part of a multi-agency investigation involving Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service.
