Resorts World Las Vegas to pay Nevada’s second biggest ever fine to settle with Gaming Control Board
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has entered into a proposed Stipulation for Settlement with Resorts World Las Vegas and its parent companies (RWLV) regarding the complaint for disciplinary action originally filed by the NGCB on August 15, 2024.
The fine of $10.5m amounts to the second-largest fine in Nevada gaming history and will settle a 12-point disciplinary complaint against the casino for failing to comply with federal anti-money laundering rules by letting known illegal bookmakers gamble on the gaming floor for over a year Scott Sibella was Resorts World Las Vegas’ President.
Under his leadership, illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer was able to gamble more than $1.2m without the casino identifying source of funds and without any documentation about the the funds being filed.
“Resorts World knew, or should have known, that Bowyer was likely engaged in illegal bookmaking,” the Control Board said. “The Stipulation seeks to resolve an Amended Complaint, contemporaneously filed against RWLV today, alleging unsuitable methods of operation primarily resulting from activities at the licensed property by illegal bookmakers Mathew Bowyer and Damien LeForbes.
“The Stipulation includes a fine of $10,500,000 payable to Nevada’s General Fund, and dictates specific conditions be placed on RWLV gaming licenses. The proposed settlement also addresses “wholesale changes” to executive leadership at RWLV, and details numerous remedial measures implemented at
RWLV. The majority of conditions and remediations focus on additional or increased requirements in the RWLV anti-money laundering program.”
“Within the Stipulation is an acknowledgement that if any federal criminal, civil, or administrative action is taken against RWLV regarding the allegations in the Amended Complaint or otherwise, the NGCB reserves the right to file a separate disciplinary complaint based on the federal action.”
“The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) is scheduled to consider approval of the Stipulation at its monthly meeting on March 27, 2025, in Las Vegas. At that time, counsel for RWLV and the Nevada Attorney General’s Office will explain the terms of the proposed Stipulation and request NGC approval of the negotiated settlement.”
Genting Bhd said: “RWLV has actively engaged with the NGCB for a resolution to the Complaint since it was filed in August 2024. RWLV also has implemented numerous remedial measures, enhancements to its Anti-Money Laundering Program, and wholesale leadership changes as detailed in the Settlement Stipulation and Order, in order to bolster the property’s governance structure as well as to address certain compliance risks, and to help drive go-forward business strategies.”
Nomura analysts Tushar Mohata and Alpa Aggarwal commented: “While the company has to operate the gaming business with a high degree of scrutiny going forward, we think the resort revenue/EBITDA, which has declined substantially over the past few months due to recalibration of processes and risk appetite, should now start to recover. However, we also think that the cost base for the resort will be higher, especially with a completely overhauled management team, and the improved processes might also slow the EBITDA recovery to the 2023 run rate.”
Resreahc group CreditSights added: “We expect a limited overall credit impact on Genting and Genting Malaysia, though reputational damage is inevitable. The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) has the final authority over disciplinary action that could include fines and, in the worst-case scenario, suspension or revocation of RWLV’s gaming license. Our base case scenario is for RWLV to be imposed monetary fines that could range from the single-digit to hundreds of millions, based on precedent penalties. We take comfort in RWLV’s strong earnings ramp-up, lack of material debt maturities till FY27, and continued strong backing by Genting and Genting Malaysia.”
