Tough Hearing Ends With Nevada Regulator Approving $7.8M Caesars Fine

The Nevada Gaming Commission has hit Caesars Entertainment with a $7.8 million fine. This comes after state watchdogs found that the company let Matthew Bowyer, a known illegal bookmaker, gamble big at many of its casinos for years. The company did not check where his money came from. 

Bowyer’s Trail of Violations Spurs Yet Another Punishment, This Time for Caesars

The Commission voted 4-1 to make this call. It is the newest in a line of big punishments linked to Bowyer’s actions up and down the Las Vegas Strip.

At a long public hearing, Caesars’ top brass owned up to big flaws in the company’s oversight. The executives told the commissioners they felt embarrassed that this mess happened while they were in charge. They also said the company’s defenses against shady money moves did not work like they should have. They stressed that following the rules was meant to be a key part of how they did business. However, they had to admit that the Bowyer case showed some serious gaps that stuck around for way too long, as reported by KTNV.

Officials found that Bowyer bet big at Caesars venues in Las Vegas, northern Nevada, and California from 2017 to 2024. This continued even after in-house warnings flagged him as high risk and a 2019 tip hinted he could be breaking the law. Despite these red flags, Caesars did not investigate how he funded his gambling. By the time cops nabbed him in early 2024, he had gambled on at least 100 separate days, the state’s complaint says.

Regulators Split as Caesars Accepts One of Nevada’s Largest Gaming Penalties

One commissioner, Rosa Solis-Rainey, disagreed with the settlement. She said the wrongdoing was concerning because the company had internal systems that flagged issues, yet it still did not take the necessary action. She also wondered why Bowyer could still enter Caesars’ properties after other casinos had stopped him years before.

Other commissioners agreed the mistake was serious but mentioned they gave credit to Caesars for working with them in a helpful way and showing signs of putting new checks in place. The regulators pointed out that the fine was about three times what the company made from Bowyer and was one of the biggest penalties ever given to a Nevada gaming license holder. Several board members said they were upset that the industry has dealt with four major enforcement actions this year alone, linked to the same person, calling Bowyer a troublemaker who took advantage of weak spots across multiple operators.

Caesars has made changes to its anti–money laundering and customer verification processes, fired staff involved in the failures, and promised to give compliance teams more backing. Company leaders said they take full blame for not spotting the issue earlier and stated the remedial work aims to stop similar problems down the road.

Now that the deal is done, the case ends a years-long story that officials said should warn other casinos across the state.