Brian O’Dwyer garnered headlines 11 months ago when the New York gaming regulator cited a sweeping money laundering investigation as a potential hurdle for several bidders in their quest to receive a downstate New York casino licence.
During this week’s Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga, O’Dwyer, chairman of the New York State Gaming Commission, reiterated the importance of conducting a thorough review of the character, fitness and operational capacity of candidates to ensure casinos will operate in strict compliance with New York law.
In Tuesday’s remarks, O’Dwyer alluded to how several casino operators have fallen short of their legal obligations regarding policies to prevent money laundering.
“In dealing with this, we’ll consider those allegations, as well as other allegations for all other pertinent information regarding licensees,” O’Dwyer said in the wake of Nevada cases in which operators were investigated and fined. “Only those candidates who have met the highest standards of integrity and operational efficiencies will be awarded the licence.”
Last September O’Dwyer told the New York Post that accusations against multiple Las Vegas casinos were “particularly disturbing” due to a “culture of non-compliance”, by disregarding suspicious activity inside the properties.
Over the last 12 months, three Las Vegas casino properties – MGM Resorts, Wynn Las Vegas and Resorts World Las Vegas – have agreed to pay fines to the Nevada Gaming Commission to settle anti-money laundering violations. MGM and Resorts World are involved in two of the eight bids in New York.
Neither a ‘rubber stamp nor a potted plant’
O’Dwyer spent a considerable amount of time during his address on Tuesday outlining the state’s process for awarding up to three downstate New York casino licences. Local Community Advisory Committees (CAC) are reviewing proposals from eight bidders interested in opening a casino in the lower portion of the state. This week, committees in Yonkers and Manhattan held public hearings on the bids from MGM Empire City and Caesars Palace Times Square.
Next month, the committees face a 30 September deadline to vote on the projects within their respective jurisdictions. The eight applications can advance to the next stage of state consideration only if they receive clearance from their local committee. The New York Gaming Facility Location Board is supposed to determine by 1 December who should receive the licences.
The state gaming commission is expected to issue up to three licences by 31 December. The chairman took particular exception with the notion that certain bidders might be considered a ‘”lock” by the public to receive the coveted licences.
“I take this responsibility very seriously, in that whomever we determine will be granted a licence for a long time to operate in the state of New York,” O’Dwyer said, while pounding his fist to illustrate his point. “The commission is neither a rubber stamp nor a potted plant.”
Standards for licence disqualification
O’Dwyer told a packed audience at the Saratoga Hilton that the New York commission is basically required to accept the findings of the Gaming Facility Location Board, adding that the determination is largely viewed as “non appealable”.
Under the process, the commission will have about 30 days to review the board’s findings. At that point, he noted, it is the responsibility of the commission under law to determine if the candidates meet the strict licensing requirements.
In his previous comments to the Post, O’Dwyer appeared troubled by allegations that casinos in Nevada had “negligently” ignored suspicious activity to promote financial gain. He emphasised at that time, however, that while he found the AML allegations against the companies to be concerning, the allegations were not necessarily disqualifying of a licence.
A Resorts World spokesperson told the Post last fall that allegations against executives at one property do not have “any overlap” with operations at other company entities.
Sentencing for illegal bookmaker nears
In March, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved a $10.5 million fine against Resorts World Las Vegas, the second-largest in state history against a casino property. It found Resorts World allowed several illegal bookmakers to gamble at the casino, including Matt Bowyer, a bookie who handled $325 million in sports wagers from Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter.
According to a regulatory complaint, Bowyer lost at least $7.9 million at the casino over 80 separate visits. Bowyer is awaiting sentencing on 29 August on transactional money laundering charges.
According to New York Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law, the state will use the same criteria for disqualifying applicants in the upcoming rounds as it did during the upstate casino licensing process more than a decade ago.
There are roughly a dozen standards that could lead to disqualification, including “flagrant defiance” of any investigation of crimes relating to gaming, official corruption or organised crime activity.
The casino bidding process is widely viewed as a lucrative one for the state of New York. Each winning bidder will be required to pay the state an upfront licensing fee of $500 million.
New York State Gaming Commission Chairman Brian O’Dwyer stresses that only applicants that have met the highest integrity standards will be awarded a downstate casino licence.