This week, Caesars Entertainment became the third Las Vegas casino operator this year to be fined by the Nevada Gaming Commission for anti-money laundering failures related to illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer.

Caesars Palace is one of eight properties operated by Caesars Entertainment, the second largest casino company on the Las Vegas Strip. (Image: Shutterstock)

The Reno-based company, which operates eight casino resorts on the Strip, agreed to pay $7.8 million to the Nevada Gaming Commission for allowing Bowyer to gamble for years despite internal warnings and high-risk flags.

It follows Resorts World, which along with parent company Genting Berhad was fined $10.5 million in March 2025, and MGM Resorts International, which agreed to pay $8.5 million in April 2025. In all three cases, internal AML procedures were ignored and Bowyer was allowed to bet at the casinos for years by executives in charge.

According to a five-count, 21-page complaint filed Thursday and dated November 10, Bowyer won and lost millions at the following Caesars properties:

1. Caesars Palace
2. Harrah’s Resort Southern California
3. Harveys Lake Tahoe (now Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe)

The Nevada Gaming Commission will consider whether to approve the settlement at a public hearing on November 20.

One man, Mathew Bowyer, has single-handedly ruined the credibility of almost the entire Las Vegas Strip. (Image: X/@Bsb/Authority)

Bowyer, 50, was at the center of the Shohei Ohtani scandal, accepting more than $325 million in bets from Ippei Mizuhara, the Japanese translator convicted of stealing an estimated $17 million from Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter and part-time pitcher.

Bowyer began serving a one-year sentence in federal prison in October.

According to the new complaint, Caesars flagged the incarcerated bookie as high risk as early as 2017 but “failed to substantiate Bowyer’s source of funds and/or that his source of funds was consistent with his level of play.

Bowyer wasn’t banned by Caesars until January 2024.

The Complaint

“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 complaint reads.

The five counts Caesars was charged with are:

1. Failure to establish Bowyer’s source of funds
2. Failure to ban Bowyer
3. Failure to conduct adequate due diligence on Bowyer after receiving negative information
4. Failure to elevate Bowyer to Caesars’ AML officer
5. Failure to conduct an investigation

Caesars, which according to the terms of the settlement will not admit or deny any of the allegations against it, released the following statement in response:

“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’ programs. We take our compliance responsibilities seriously and are dedicated to continuously strengthening our practices to meet and exceed the highest standards.”

Vegas Did Not  Need This

At a time when tourism is down 11% from June 2024 to June 2025, this latest blow to Vegas’ corporate reputation this year is not welcome.

Wynn Las Vegas was fined $5.5 million for unrelated anti-money laundering issues, and Fontainebleau is reportedly under investigation for possible Bowyer ties.

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