Major Las Vegas Strip casino pays huge fines for illegal gambling

Guests of Las Vegas Strip casinos want assurances that the facilities where they gamble are regulated and operate fair and honest games. They also want casinos to be free of illegal activities.

In an effort to keep Nevada casinos operating within the law, the Nevada Gaming Commission and Nevada Gaming Control Board have taken significant actions against casinos and their executives over the years for illegal or inappropriate activities.

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In 2019, the commission fined Wynn Resorts $20 million, the largest commission fine ever, for ignoring employees' complaints of misconduct.

In July 2023, Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn agreed to a $10 million fine and a ban from any future involvement in Nevada gambling after the Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a complaint in 2019 over sexual abuse and misconduct allegations.

Resorts World on March 27, 2025, agreed to a $10.5 million fine after the Nevada Gaming Commission filed an amended complaint on March 20, alleging the casino and its then-President Scott Sibella allowed illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer to do business and gamble at the casino from December 2021 until Oct. 6, 2023, at which time Bowyer was banned from Resorts World.

MGM Resorts agrees to an $8.5 million fine

Also, Las Vegas Strip casino operator MGM Resorts International agreed to pay an $8.5 million fine to the State of Nevada related to a complaint for disciplinary action settlement with the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

The complaint against MGM and its casinos MGM Grand and Cosmopolitan was filed contemporaneously with a stipulation for settlement on April 17, alleging “unsuitable methods of operation arising from the activities of illegal bookmaker, Wayne Nix, which were described in non-prosecution agreements between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and MGM Grand and The Cosmopolitan,” according a statement by the Gaming Control Board.

The complaint for disciplinary action also detailed the activities of illegal bookmaker Bowyer at MGM properties, which were discovered by the Nevada Gaming Control Board during the course of its investigation.

Wynn Las Vegas agreed to pay a $5.5 million fine.

Image source: Wynn Resorts

Wynn Resorts agrees to pay fine

And now, the Nevada Gaming Commission, in a 4-1 vote on May 22, approved a $5.5 million fine against Wynn Resorts that was recommended by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, according to Casino.org.

Nevada Gaming Control Board had entered into a proposed Stipulation for Settlement with Wynn Las Vegas, LLC regarding a complaint for disciplinary action filed contemporaneously with the stipulation by the gaming control board on May 15, 2025, according to a board statement.

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The complaint, levied against the company in 2024, alleged unsuitable methods of operation arising from activities related to unregistered money transmitting businesses, facilitating international monetary transactions, allowing proxy betting, and other prohibited monetary transactions that were contained in a non-prosecution agreement between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California and Wynn Las Vegas.

The gaming control board complaint details instances where former employees of Wynn allowed international patrons to obtain and/or transfer money improperly for the purposes of wagering, and also allowed wagers to be placed for other patrons at Wynn Las Vegas in violation of the gaming licensee’s Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Program.

The fine comes a year after Wynn agreed to pay $130.13 million to the U.S. Department of Justice, which was the largest fine ever for a U.S. casino, for the same charges, Casino.org reported.

The charges included unsuitable methods of operation arising from activities related to unregistered money transmitting businesses, facilitating international monetary transactions, and allowing proxy betting and other prohibited monetary transactions.