Caesars Palace and affiliated Caesars Entertainment properties will pay a $7.8 million fine following a Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) complaint outlining prolonged anti-money laundering (AML) failures involving California bookmaker Mathew Bowyer. Regulators said Caesars continued allowing Bowyer to gamble despite years of unresolved concerns about his finances and repeated internal warnings.
According to the complaint, Bowyer wagered at Caesars Palace from before 2017 until January 2024. Internal reviews dating back to 2017 concluded his income could not be verified. Still, he continued betting across Caesars properties—including Caesars Palace, Harrah’s Resort Southern California, and Harveys Lake Tahoe (now Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe).
Bowyer drew national attention after Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, stole millions from the baseball star to repay gambling debts. While Ohtani was not implicated, Mizuhara received a 57-month sentence for bank and tax crimes, and Bowyer was later sentenced to 12 months and one day for illegal gambling, money laundering, and filing a false tax return.
Suspensions, Reinstatements, and Repeated Red Flags
Regulators described a recurring pattern in which Caesars suspended Bowyer’s account, accepted documents he supplied, and then reinstated him despite ongoing doubts about his funds. In 2017 alone, Bowyer deposited over $4 million in front money even as Caesars noted his “source of funds/employment could not be determined.” Caesars also documented that two Las Vegas casinos had already banned him.
Concerns rose in 2019 after an anonymous caller identified Bowyer as a “bookie.” Caesars soon labelled him “high risk” due to unverifiable income and more than $2 million in losses. Though the casino suspended him, he was reinstated after submitting a 2018 tax return and claiming nearly $3 million in winnings from the Cosmopolitan. Risk reviews in 2020 and 2021 again concluded his income was “undetermined/unverifiable,” resulting in additional suspensions and reinstatements.
Caesars ultimately did not ban Bowyer until January 2024—after widespread media reporting on a federal raid of his home. As the complaint noted, “Media outlets reported extensively on Bowyer, including his activities in Las Vegas casinos, his operation of an illegal bookmaking business, and his money laundering activities,” according to the Nevada Current.
Industry-Wide Consequences and Strengthened Controls
Caesars became the third Las Vegas operator penalized for Bowyer-related failures. Resorts World previously agreed to a $10.5 million settlement, and MGM Resorts settled for $8.5 million for AML violations linked to Bowyer and other bookmakers, including Wayne Nix.
Separately, the NGCB stated that Caesars has since enhanced its AML framework and added expanded employee training. The Nevada Gaming Commission plans to review the proposed settlement on Nov. 20; if approved, funds will go to the state’s General Fund.
A Caesars spokesperson said: “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.”
As Caesars navigates the fallout, the company faces a challenging stretch marked by declining Las Vegas performance and regulatory uncertainty around prediction markets. It is also dealing with setbacks in its New York casino ambitions.
Source:
“Caesars Penalized $7.8M for Years of Unchecked Activity by Bookmaker”, news.worldcasinodirectory.com, November 16, 2025
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