The Venetian Resort Las Vegas has reached an agreement to settle with Nevada gaming regulators for $7.2 million due to issues with anti-money laundering (AML) compliance associated with convicted illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer. Notably, the majority of the alleged infractions took place before the current ownership of the resort.
The suggested settlement will go before the Nevada Gaming Commission for approval at their August meeting, addressing a complaint that includes allegations that The Venetian did not adequately track Bowyer’s gambling activities from 2019 to 2021, during which the property was owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Apollo Global Management purchased the operations of The Venetian and Palazzo from Las Vegas Sands for $6.25 billion in 2022. As part of the acquisition, Apollo took on various assets and liabilities, including compliance responsibilities.
As per the complaint, Bowyer visited The Venetian approximately 30 times between 2019 and 2021, depositing around $22.3 million. He placed bets amounting to millions and suffered losses of at least $3.6 million at the casino.
The regulators asserted that a casino host at The Venetian was aware as early as 2019 about Bowyer’s illegal bookmaker status but failed to report it. The complaint also alleged that the casino neglected to confirm Bowyer’s financial sources, conduct thorough due diligence, or investigate his activities adequately, thus compromising its AML framework.
“The Venetian’s negligence to perform sufficient due diligence to validate Bowyer’s funds and play level,” the complaint noted.
Furthermore, it claimed that “The Venetian’s delay in banning Bowyer undermined and possibly violated the casino’s AML protocols,” risking the potential laundering of funds from Bowyer’s illegal betting operations.
Bowyer was banned from the property in March 2024 after details of his illegal bookmaking surfaced.
With this settlement from The Venetian, Nevada regulators have collectively imposed $34 million in fines on four Las Vegas casino operators related to Bowyer’s betting activities.
Resorts World Las Vegas agreed to a payment of $10.5 million, MGM Resorts International $8.5 million, and Caesars Entertainment $7.8 million in prior settlements.
The Bowyer incident has led to Nevada enhancing its anti-money laundering (AML) regulations in April, following discussions with industry experts in the money laundering sector, as highlighted by Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer.
“We recognized significant shortcomings and expressed concerns regarding AML,” Dreitzer stated.
“The industry has acknowledged these issues and has actively engaged in fostering a compliance culture over profit. We believe these revamped regulations will lead to meaningful improvements,” he added.
In 2024, Bowyer pled guilty to operating an illegal gambling enterprise, money laundering, and submitting a false tax return. He was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison in August 2025, ordered to pay over $1.6 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, and released on parole in March.
He was subsequently added to Nevada’s List of Excluded Persons,informally known as the “Black Book”, effectively banning him from accessing casinos in the state.
The Bowyer case gained international notoriety when it was revealed that he had accepted numerous illegal bets from Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.