‘Clarion Call’ to Boost Compliance
Several days before Shohei Ohtani’s historic performance in the National League Championship Series, Matt Bowyer reported to federal prison to begin a sentence that will likely keep him behind bars through MLB’s 2026 Opening Day.
Bowyer, the bookmaker who accepted $325 million in illegal wagers from Ohtani’s former interpreter, has boasted that he is singularly responsible for revamped compliance protocols across the Las Vegas Strip. The illegal bookie pleaded guilty to several felony charges, including laundering millions at Resorts World Las Vegas.
The casino opened in 2021 with a price tag of $4.3 billion, the most expensive resort property developed in the history of Sin City. RWLV is also one of three casinos that agreed to pay millions in fines to settle charges with Nevada regulators over a slew of anti-money laundering deficiencies. The cases present a “clarion call” to the industry to clean up a culture of noncompliance, according to Brian Krolicki, a Nevada Gaming Commission member.
These trends have resulted from the historic probe:
1. Robust KYC standards throughout the Strip: In Bowyer’s case, a former RWLV executive altered information about the bookmaker several times in meetings with the casino’s internal AML committee. In response, leading casinos have beefed up standards in attempts to better determine the identity of their customers.
2. Reliance on fines rather than suspensions: In total, three casino corporations—RWLV, MGM Resorts and Wynn—agreed to pay the state a combined $24.5 million. Mike Dreitzer, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, told GGB that while fines “make headlines,” it’s more important that licensees are acting in a “corrective way.”
3. Sources of funds: Before reporting to prison, Bowyer admitted he bet heavily on sports himself, wagering at least $4.5 million on the 2023 Super Bowl. If a high-net-worth customer is planning to risk millions on a single wager, compliance officials now want to know where they are deriving their income before extending credit.
4. SAR filings from C-suite executives: Scott Sibella, former president of MGM Grand who took a similar role at Resorts World Las Vegas, pleaded guilty to one charge of failure to file a suspicious activity report. The charge related to his dealings with Wayne Nix, another bookmaker, who apparently accepted wagers from Bowyer associates. Sibella believes he was unfairly targeted given that reporting obligations rarely fall to C-suite officials. In any event, the sweeping case has put the C-suite on notice that irregular activity cannot go unnoticed. Sibella was terminated by Resorts World.
5. Federal intervention: MGM Grand and Wynn also signed non-prosecutorial agreements with the U.S. Justice Department. Under former President Joe Biden’s administration, federal prosecutors completed a proffer offer with RWLV, Rolling Stone reported in August. At the time of the 2024 presidential election, the prosecutorial team awaited approval from the DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery section, an approval that never arrived. As of November 1, RWLV had yet to reach a settlement with the federal government.
6. Interactions between marketing and compliance departments: Omar Khoury, chief global compliance officer at Wynn Resorts, explained at October’s Global Gaming Expo that objectives of the two departments can often conflict. Traditionally, large divisions at Vegas casinos can find themselves siloed. Still, Catie Briggs-Gillis, vice president of slot marketing & loyalty at the Venetian, noted that information-sharing efforts between disparate divisions have improved dramatically since the scandal broke.
7. Tighter inspection of illegal bookies: Bowyer insists that his status as a bookie was hardly a secret; he claimed that more than 90 percent of Vegas hosts knew of his occupation. Since Bowyer’s conviction, multiple Vegas sportsbooks have expelled illegal bookmakers, sources told GGB.
8. Chip walking: To mitigate the risks of promotional chip fraud, a number of casinos have prevented customers from cashing in chips from other properties at their own cages. Nevertheless, more can be done from a regulatory standpoint.
9. Crypto money laundering: Damien LeForbes, another bookmaker in the case, allegedly laundered large sums of money through a crypto wallet in Las Vegas. Given the proliferation of digital currencies, it’s fair to assume that AML regimes throughout the Strip will keep a closer eye out for crypto schemes. 10. Further regulatory action: In May, information of a confidential AML investigation having started against the Fontainebleau Las Vegas was inadvertently leaked during a Nevada Gaming Commission meeting. As of publication, the Fontainebleau has not been named in a complaint by state regulators. The incident, though, may provide a harbinger that the broader investigation is not complete. Richard Schuetz, ex-CEO at the Stratosphere and a former California regulator, favors strict regulations. The sanctions, he noted, must be severe enough to “disincentivize” non-compliant casinos from engaging in that type of activity again.
