OPINIAO-PUBLICA24-7

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) announced late Friday that the gaming company’s Wynn Las Vegas unit agreed to forfeit $130.13 million to the government to settle claims the casino operator worked with unregulated money transfer enterprises to shift capital for the benefit of the company.

The fine, which is part of a non-prosecution agreement (NPA), is believed to be the largest on record for any US-based casino company “based on admissions of criminal wrongdoing,” according to DOJ. Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts notified investors about the penalty in a form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) late Friday.

Pursuant to the NPA, Wynn Las Vegas agreed to forfeit $130 million in funds involved in the transactions at issue and continue to make certain enhancements to its compliance program. The DOJ agreed that, subject to Wynn Las Vegas’s fulfillment of its obligations under the NPA, it will not bring any criminal charges against Wynn Las Vegas concerning the subject matter of its investigation, subject to standard reservations of rights and certain reserved claims,” said the gaming company in the regulatory document.

News of the penalty hasn’t spooked Wynn shareholders as of yet as the stock was down just 0.16% in Friday’s after-hours session. As part of the NPA, Wynn Las Vegas admitted that it used an illegal money transfer system to skirt regulated, traditional anti-money laundering protocols.

Wynn Las Vegas Money Transfers Had China Ties

DOJ outlined several scenarios in which violations at Wynn Las Vegas had ties to China. In one example known as “Human Head” or “Human Hat” betting, a  guest of the Sin City casino resort would use a proxy to wager their funds for fear that if they bet themselves, they’d run afoul of US Bank Secrecy Act or Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) laws.

“A money processor, acting as an unlicensed money transmitting business, collected U.S. dollars in cash from third parties in the United States and delivered that cash to a WLV patron who could not otherwise access cash in the U.S. The patron then electronically transferred the equivalent value of foreign currency from the patron’s foreign bank account to a foreign bank account designated by the money processor,” said DOJ in a statement.

Wynn Resorts’ Wynn Macau unit runs two integrated resorts in the Chinese territory, but DOJ didn’t mention anything about the operator’s Macau exposure playing a role in the money transfer schemes that occurred at the company’s Las Vegas property.

DOJ added that in another example of Wynn Las Vegas flouting anti-money laundering regulations, the venue didn’t report millions of dollars in transactions attributable to a Chinese guest who “had spent six years in prison in China for conducting unauthorized international monetary transactions and violations of other financial laws.”

Wynn Looks to Put Ominous Chapter to Bed

While the bulk of the operator’s earnings and revenue are derived from Macau, Wynn’s Las Vegas complex, consisting of the namesake casino hotel and adjoining Encore, are vital to its US presence and overall investment thesis. That confirms it behooves the operator to put the illegal money transfer issue to rest.

“In reaching the resolution set forth in the NPA, the DOJ took into account the historical nature of the transactions at issue; Wynn Las Vegas’s cooperation with the DOJ’s multi-year investigation; that Wynn Las Vegas no longer employs or is affiliated with any of the individuals implicated in the transactions at issue; and Wynn Las Vegas’s extensive remedial measures, many of which were undertaken prior to the parties entering into the NPA,” said the gaming company in the SEC filing.

The case was investigated by the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the IRS.

The post Wynn Las Vegas Strikes $130M DOJ Settlement, Largest Fine Ever for a US Casino appeared first on Casino.org.

Maine’s chief gambling regulator, Milton Champion, is facing a rebellion from his casino inspectors who accuse him of unilaterally “deregulating casinos … without input from the voting public” and of creating a “deeply dysfunctional and toxic workplace environment.”

All nine inspectors under Champion’s control signed an open letter published Wednesday by the MSEA-SEIU Local 1989 public services union. The letter expresses no confidence in Champion, who has been executive director of the Maine Gambling Control Unit since 2016.

“Casino gambling … was a highly contentious issue in Maine in 2003 when it was passed by voters and legalized,” Mark Brunton, president of Local 1989, said in a statement. “One of the concerns was to make sure it was well-regulated to protect the citizens of Maine. That’s the important role that our inspectors play. They need to be on the job whenever the casinos are open.”

‘Undermining the Board’

 The inspectors’ letter claims that Champion “does not respect” the oversight of the Maine Gambling Control Board because it has denied his proposals in the past.

Now, rather than subject himself to the checks and balances of the Board’s oversight function, Milton Champion is circumventing the Board altogether by making unilateral decisions that completely undermine the Board’s ability to oversee gambling matters in Maine.”

The inspectors claim that “many of these decisions make very little sense, are based on false data, and have irreparably harmed the Maine Gambling Control Unit’s ability to regulate casino gambling.”

Additional grievances include Champion’s alleged failure to “correctly pay” his inspectors for services rendered and refusal to discuss all of the above issues.

“We must make it known that Milton Champion has repeatedly shown a lack of respect for our legal rights and processes spelled out in our union contract, has retaliated against us individually and as a group, and has created a deeply dysfunctional and toxic workplace environment,” the letter states.

Champion Blunder

Champion hadn’t responded to a request for comment on the letter from Casino.org at the time of publication. However, Steven Silver, chair of the Maine Gambling Control Board, told The Portland Press Herald that “from a purely operational standpoint, things have been running very smoothly and very profitably under Director Champion.”

Silver also acknowledged he was aware of complaints about a hostile work environment and had concerns over the decision-making that went into the schedule change.

On May 6 of that year, the regulator replied to a poster’s opinion that referring to a group of women as “ladies” was inappropriate.

“In this day and age, I guess ‘bitches’ is better,” he suggested.

Then, just over a week later, he reacted to images of a white nationalist march on the US Capitol with: “At least they are not burning down or looting stores.”

The post Maine Chief Regulator Facing ‘No Confidence’ Revolt by Casino Inspectors appeared first on Casino.org.

Illegal betting on sports in Massachusetts has largely remained unchanged following the commonwealth’s embrace of the expanded gambling activity.

Legal sports betting began at the state’s three brick-and-mortar casinos — Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park — in January 2023. Online sportsbooks commenced operations two months later in March.

According to the school’s Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts’ summer update, there has been “no change in the proportion of monthly gamblers … who had engaged in any illegal sports betting between 2022 and 2023.” The UMass researchers did find a decrease in the proportion of monthly sports bettors who engaged only in illegal sports betting, but concluded that Massachusetts’ regulation of sports gambling “was not a substantial recapture of illegal sports betting revenues.”

Concerned Commissioners 

UMass researcher Rachel Volberg recently presented the July findings to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC). Though the July update focused on problem gambling rates, commissioners said their interest was piqued by the illegal betting data points.

A lot of the reason we wanted to make sure this is done and done correctly, sports wagering, is that we want to stamp out the illegal market,” said MGC Interim Chair Jordan Maynard. “The illegal market is not a victimless place.”

Maynard said the regulated space provides numerous consumer protections that aren’t available in the underground and offshore markets, including responsible gaming programs, player complaint resources, and guarantees that bets will be paid and account withdrawals will be executed.

If you have an issue with your bookie, there are only a few places you can go. If you have an issue with a legal sports wagering operator or gambling operator in the state, you can come to the Gaming Commission and we can help take care of these issues,” Maynard said.

Commissioner Eileen O’Brien said she can understand how an online sports bettor might be tricked into believing an unregulated, offshore sportsbook website is a legal operation. She said the state must do more “to continue to educate consumers” about what is and isn’t permitted sports gambling.

More Data Needed

Since legal online sports betting in Massachusetts — the preferred wagering method in states where both retail and internet sportsbooks are allowed — is only 17 months into existence, Volberg told the MGC that more time is needed to hopefully transition more bettors from the illegal market.

Many jurisdictions have found that it can take a substantial period of time for sports bettors to migrate fully from nonregulated to regulated providers,” she explained.

Sports betting has provided a substantial revenue windfall for Massachusetts. The MGC says since the first legal bet was wagered in January 2023, the state has collected $166.6 million in sports gambling taxes and fees.

The post Study: Illegal Sports Betting Rate in Massachusetts Remains Unchanged appeared first on Casino.org.

Australia’s embattled Star Entertainment Group was suspended from the ASX, the country’s stock exchange, on Monday for failing to file its financial results. Star is the largest publicly traded casino operator in Australia.

The company told shareholders on Friday that it would halt trading and publish its full-year results later in the day. That’s while it “considered the implications” of a damning report by New South Wales (NSW) regulators that found it was still unsuitable to hold a gaming license for its flagship Star Sydney property.

The report by the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC) concluded the operator had not sufficiently addressed the “governance and cultural concerns” highlighted in a 2022 inquiry that initially found it unfit for licensing.

It has only very recently turned its attention to dealing with challenges that should have been prioritized earlier,” NICC chief commissioner Philip Crawford said.

“It was unclear whether The Star could feasibly operate under less supervision, when it was exhibiting past behaviors with its license still suspended,” he added.

Secret VIP Room

The 2022 inquiry determined that The Star Sydney had failed to protect itself from being used by criminal gangs to launder money in private high-roller junket rooms.

Star allowed Macau-based junket operator Suncity to secretly operate an unbranded VIP room, referred to as “Salon 95.” This was despite Australian authorities having identified Suncity as having links to organized crime.

Salon 95 continued to operate even after then-Star CEO Matt Bekier told regulators his company had severed business links to Suncity.

The casino also allowed Chinese high rollers to withdraw a total of $900 million for gambling using China UnionPay (CUP) credit cards while disguising these transactions as “hotel expenses” to avoid breaching CUP’s no-gambling transaction rules. Star subsequently lied to CUP and the National Australia Bank in an effort to conceal the deceit.

Crown Passes Test

Star’s competitor, Crown Resorts, faced similar accusations of cultural shortcomings and was also found unsuitable for licensing in NSW following a 2021 inquiry. But last April, the NICC determined that the company had successfully addressed its failings.

The report, published last Thursday, came just two days after Star opened its AU$3.8 billion (US$2.5 billion) Queens Wharf in Brisbane, Queensland. It also runs The Star Gold Coast in Queensland.

The post Star Entertainment Kicked Off ASX Over Missing Financial Results appeared first on Casino.org.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has long supported bringing regulated sports betting to Texas and he recently reiterated that view, noting that the state is missing out on substantial tax revenue by failing to legalize that mobile sports wagering.

In a media session earlier this week following a Cowboys practice, Jones said he thinks the Lone Star state will eventually have sports betting, but until then, Texas is missing out on an opportunity to generate significant tax receipts.

I think ultimately you’ll have sports betting in the state of Texas. Until that time, the state does lose an opportunity for huge amounts of revenue,” the Cowboys boss said.

Jones didn’t speculate as to when the state could approve mobile sports betting, but it appears that is highly unlikely to happen prior to the 2027 legislative session. If it happens then and the matter is approved by voters later that year, it’s possible Texas would have mobile sports wagering in advance of the 2028 football season.

Jones Wants Transparency in Texas Sports Betting

Jones and other owners of professional teams located in Texas have been vocal supporters of regulated sports wagering coming to the state because it’d be a money-maker not only for the state, but for their franchises as well.

“I think that properly, properly supervised, by the people that play the games and people that have the teams that play the games and the individual athletes — you’ve got to make sure that the perception is and the reality is that there’s just no compromising on it all being very competitive and up-and-up,” he told the press. “I think that takes some time in some places more than it does others.”

Jones has some gaming investments, including ties to an Arkansas casino plan. Along with several other professional team owners, he was an early investor in DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG).

Texas Sports Betting Outlook

In 2023, both casino gaming and sports wagering made more progress than the issues previously had in Texas, but both ultimately perished because there wasn’t momentum in the state Senate to take up the related bills.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) controls what bills are heard in the Senate and his opposition to gaming expansion is well-documented.

Due to this being an election year, the Texas legislature had a brief schedule, making it difficult to consider gaming issues. The legislature is scheduled to reconvene in January, but the prevailing wisdom in sports betting circles is that politicians there won’t prioritize sports wagering.

The post Jerry Jones: Without Sports Betting, Texas Missing Out On Big Revenue appeared first on Casino.org.