Nevada gaming regulators have filed a 12-count disciplinary complaint against the ownership and operators of Resorts World Las Vegas for allegedly failing to comply with federal anti-money laundering (AML) laws by allowing known illegal bookmakers to gamble millions of dollars at the Strip resort for more than a year.

The hotel-casino and Malaysia-based Genting Berhad were named in the 31-page filing on Thursday by the Gaming Control Board. Regulators are seeking an undisclosed multi-million dollar fine and action against the gaming licenses for the ownership and property operators.

Much of the illegal activity occurred during the stewardship of former Resorts World Las Vegas President Scott Sibella, who was fired in September 2023 and was sentenced in May after pleading guilty to federal charges that he violated the Bank Secrecy Act while overseeing MGM Grand Las Vegas. He was given probation.

Sibella was not named in Thursday’s filing but was named in a separate three-count filed by the control board in April stemming from the MGM Grand charges.

The complaint surrounds the activities of illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this month to operating an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return. According to the control board, Bowyer gambled millions of dollars at Resorts World and never filed any documentation about the source of the funds. 

Bowyer is the illegal bookmaker who accepted millions of dollars in bets from the former interpreter for superstar baseball player Shohei Ohtani.

Also named in the complaint are Edwin Ting and Chad Iwamoto, both of whom have been convicted in federal court for various illegal gambling crimes. Ting, according to the filing, is known to have connections to organized crime.

“There exists an overall lack of control within Resorts World and acceptance among executives of a culture where information of suspicious or illegal activity is, at a minimum, negligently disregarded, or, worst, wilfully ignored for financial gain,” the complaint states.

Gaming regulators said the executives' bonuses were directly tied to the success of the resort.

The control board said Resorts World had an anti-money laundering program and compliance committee that oversaw transaction reports.

In July 2022, Resorts World’s AML committee “first evaluated Bowyer,” showing he had deposited more than $2.5 million into the casino. According to the documentation, Resorts World was “unable to confirm the SOF [source of funds].” 

“The AML Committee was obligated to make recommendations to bar, ban or otherwise restrict patrons from Resorts World in accordance with the AML program,” according to the complaint. “However, despite the information available as of July 19, 2022, the AML Committee did not fulfill its duty to make such a recommendation to bar, ban or otherwise restrict Bowyer. Instead, Bowyer was allowed to continue to wager millions of dollars at Resorts World.”

According to the complaint, Bowyer lost more than $1.2 million over two months in 2022 in gambling at Resorts World, without the casino identifying the source of its funds.

“Resorts World knew, or should have known, that Bowyer was likely engaged in illegal bookmaking,” the control board said in the complaint.

Genting Berhad spent $4.3 billion to build Resorts World Las Vegas, which was created on the site of the former Stardust Hotel and Casino. Genting acquired the property in 2013 from Boyd Gaming and opened the property in 2021. 

The conglomerate has seven integrated Resorts World properties, primarily in Asia, including Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore and Resorts World Genting in Malaysia.

The control board also filed a separate complaint Thursday against Nicole Bowyer, the wife of Mathew Bowyer. She was a registered independent agent who had a contract to bring in customers to Resorts World Las Vegas. As an independent agent, she was allowed to profit from her husband’s wagering activities, which violated anti-money laundering laws. 

In a statement, the control board said Nicole Bowyer did not cooperate with the investigation.

In a statement provided by an outside communications firm working on behalf of Resorts World, the gaming property acknowledged it was aware of the complaints and has been “actively communicating with the GCB to resolve these issues so we can move forward and focus on our guests and nearly 5,000 team members.”

The largest fine gaming regulators have handed down in Nevada came in February 2019 when Wynn Resorts paid $20 million to settle a 10-count complaint over allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct against female employees by its former chairman, Steve Wynn. 

In July 2023, gaming regulators fined Wynn $10 million  — the largest individual disciplinary penalty ever handed down by state regulators.

Updated at 12:37 p.m. on 8/15/2024 with information on previously handed down penalties.

Updated at 12:04 p.m. on 8/15/2024 with additional information from the complaint.