ES
IT
PT
DE
NL
Venetian becomes the fourth Strip casino to be fined for allowing convicted bookmaker Mathew Bowyer to play on its gaming floor
The Venetian Resort Las Vegas will have to pay a fine of $7.2m to the Nevada Gaming Control Board for allowing convicted bookmaker Mathew Bowyer to play on its gaming floor, becoming the fourth Strip casino to be fined due to his presence.
The Gaming Control Board presented a four-count complaint, stating that the majority of the illegal gambling activity took place from 2019 to 2021, when Las Vegas Sands owned the resort. It was bought by Apollo Global Management for $6.25bn in February 2022. The board determined that there were 20 instances of failures of control within the Venetian where information of suspicious or illegal activity in relation to Bowyer was disregarded.
Bowyer is believed to have made 30 trips to The Venetian during these three years, depositing $22.3m. The complaint says he bet ‘millions of dollars and lost at least $3.6m to the Venetian.’
The complaint said: “The Venetian’s failure to conduct adequate due diligence to substantiate Bowyer’s source of funds and/or that his source of funds did not support his level of play, undermining the Venetian’s (anti-money laundering) program.”
In forms written for the Venetian, Bowyer, CEO of Green Forever, stated that his income was between $500,000 to $1m and his net worth was over $5m.
“The Venetian’s review of the information provided by Bowyer related to Green Forever showed inconsistencies as compared to information obtained from other sources. The Venetian’s review also indicated Green Forever’s annual sales at no more than approximately $94,000.”
“Venetian staff regularly noted suspicions regarding Bowyer, including that there was a lack of information regarding his source of funds and/or that his source of funds did not support his level of play.”
Current owner Apollo has had to pay the fines regarding Bowyer’s activity despite Sands’ owning the venue at the time because, legally, it also bought the liabilities of the operation.
MGM Resorts International has been fined $8.5m, Caesars Entertainment has been fined $7.8m, and Resorts World Las Vegas had to pay $10.5m.
Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer said: “We heard and saw loud and clear that there were limitations and concerns with AML. The industry has seen that and resoundingly got around this culture of compliance and the need to put compliance over commerce. We believe these (regulations) will make real differences.”
Nevada gaming is a privilege,” Dreitzer previously added. “Participation, whether as an owner, operator, agent, or patron, is conditioned on conduct that does not undermine public trust or expose the industry to reputational, operational, or regulatory harm. Such conduct creates risks not only to individual licensees but to the system as a whole.”
