CG Technology to Pay $2M Fine, Retain Nevada License
CG Technology, the high-powered sportsbook operator offering its services within several of Las Vegas’s most prominent casinos, will pay a combined $2 million fine and be allowed to continue operations in Nevada, after the Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday approved settlement terms offered by the company to resolve four counts brought against it by the NGC in August.
The settlement approved by the NGC comes after the regulator rejected a much smaller, $250,000 settlement proposal made in August by CG Technology, once known as Cantor Gaming. CG Technology (CGT) faced possible revocation of its Nevada license after being accused of taking wagers from outside the state (via mobile devices}, taking bets after events had ended, making erroneous payouts (to 1,483 total bettors), and misconfiguring a special betting station set up for 2018 Super Bowl wagrs. CGT quickly admitted its responsibility regarding each of the violations and first proposed the $250,000, but was quickly told by the NGC that the offer was insufficient.
The increased settlement offer of $2 million took much longer to be made, suggesting several weeks of inside negotiations between the operator and the NGC. The accepted settlement consists of a $1,750,000 fine levied by and payable to the NGC, part of which goes for investigative expenses, and a $250,000 contribution to the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. That contribution is due within 60 days, while the larger fine is due immediately and will accrue interest until paid in full.
CG Technology has also agreed to create a high-ranking Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, tasked with helping the company make “meaningful contributions” to employee training and to the Nevada gaming community. CGT has also committed to having its own senior executives undergo recurring “best practices” training in the areas of responsible and ethical gaming, gaming policies and procedures, and social responsibility within the gaming industry.
“We are satisfied with the resolution agreed to today by the commission,” said Parikshat Khanna, CG Technology’s CEO, in a prepared statement. “We remain committed to the Nevada sports book business and the long-term partnerships we have established with some of the finest resort operators in the world. Additionally, we look forward to the growth prospects of the industry nationwide.”
CGT currently operates eight sportsbooks in the greater Las Vegas area, at the Venetian, the Palazzo, the M Resort Spa Casino, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, the Tropicana, the Cosmopolitan, the Palms Casino Resort, and the Silverton Casino Hotel.
According to an LVRJ accounting the fine paid by CGT is the sixth largest in Nevada gaming history, though the company also holds down the #1 and #7 spots. In 2014, CGT (at that point known as Cantor G&W Holdings) paid a still-record $5.5 million fine to the NGC to resolve the state’s interest in a multi-jurisdictional case involving illegally placed bets, money laundering, and other charges. Cantor’s vice president of risk at the time, Michael Colbert, pled guilty to criminal charges. At the time, Cantor also paid another $22.5 million in fines and penalties to resolve separate cases brought by the Department of Justice [DOJ] of the Eastern District of New York and the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network [FinCen], the latter in connection with the money-laundering charges.
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