Nevada Gaming Control Board Chair Mike Dretizer said the $7.8 million fine against Caesars Entertainment for dealing with convicted bookmaker Matthew Bowyer was determined by tripling the amount of money won by the Strip operator.
Dreitzer and Mike Somps, a senior deputy with the Nevada Attorney General’s office, laid out the case Thursday. The Nevada Gaming Commission agreed to the settlement with Caesars by a 4-1 vote.
Somps outlined a five-count complaint over Caesars’s dealings with Bowyer, who pleaded guilty in federal court in September 2024 to operating an unlawful gambling business, money laundering, and subscribing to a false tax return. He was sentenced in August to 12 months in prison.
Bowyer was a patron of Caesars from 2017 to January 2024, which stopped only after the FBI executed a search warrant on his home.
“Since 2017, respondents had suspicions of Mr. Bowyer’s activities and about his source of funds,” Somps said. “On nine different occasions outlined in the Board’s complaint, (Caesars) noted issues with Mr. Bowyer’s source of funds. On multiple occasions, (Caesars) reviews of Mr. Bowyer revealed a lack of information regarding source of funds and at one point received an anonymous call saying Mr. Bowyer was a bookie.”
Bowyer’s account was suspended twice, but that was lifted when Caesars received information they deemed sufficient to reinstate Mr. Bowyer. Despite that, the operator continued to notice issues with his source of funds.
“From 2017 to 2024, Mr. Bowyer wagered millions of dollars with respondents over the course of more than 100 separate days,” Somps said.
Dreitzer said the results reached in the settlement were “quite appropriate” and called it a “good and a fair one.” While the conduct took place over seven years, Dreitzer pointed out there’s no evidence of any Caesars’s employee engaging in intentional conduct.
“This was a case of systemic negligence that led to this complaint and that stands in contrast to other matters that this Commission has previously heard, where there have been bad actors who acted intentionally within the employ of the licensees in question.”
Bowyer’s conduct resulted in fines levied against MGM Resorts International for $8.5 million and against Resorts World Las Vegas $10.5 million. A $5.5 million fine levied against Wynn Resorts was for unregistered international money transfers.
“We also thought it was notable that the licensee purchased Caesars right in the middle of all of this (in 2020), so they already inherited a significant portion of this,” Dreitzer said. “That’s not an excuse, but another factor of how we reached our decision.”
Dreitzer said Caesars won $2.6 million from Bowyer over seven years.
“This fine is three times the amount of win Caesars got from Mr. Bowyer,” Dreitzer said. “Any concern that Caesars will somehow benefit net of a fine amount is absolutely not the case. When the facts are put together with the precedent of fines levied by this Commission, we believe we reached the correct result after great consideration.”
Dreitzer pointed out that several senior executives were removed from their roles and made other changes to ensure such a situation won’t happen again.
“Additionally, Caesars continues to raise its documented spend on all AML compliance year over year and we expect that to continue,” Dreitzer said.
The five counts include not establishing Bowyer’s source of funds; failure to ban Bowyer; failure to conduct an adequate due diligence following learning he may be an illegal bookmaker; failure to follow its anti-money laundering program and elevate Bowyer to their AML officer; and failure to conduct an appropriate investigation following Bowyer’s banning from their properties.
Somps said the settlement reflects failures on behalf of Caesars that warrant sanctions, conditions, and remediations, all negotiated between the two parties.
Besides the fine of $7.8 million, Caesars agreed to 10 conditions that include maintaining core elements of their AML program with an annual review; Caesars’ AML officer will meet with the Board to discuss compliance; conduct training for independent agents, hosts and credit staff with authority exceeding $50,000; provide training to the Board of Directors and senior management; within 60 days designate a person with responsibilities over the company AML program; and initiate an awareness campaign to encourage reporting of suspicious activity on sources of funds.
Dreitzer said the conditions outlined by Somps help ensure strict compliance moving forward.
“(Caesars CEO Tom Reeg) and his team from the moment they were first communicated to about this situation have been very cooperative with us and have acknowledged the situation and move forward and work with the Board in a very cooperative manner.”
