After a series of violations committed by the Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia in connection with sports wagering, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) imposed a fine of $100,000 on the casino operator Stadium Casino RE, LLC. The penalties came after the board accepted a consent agreement presented by its Office of Enforcement Counsel (OEC) during a public meeting.

Live! Casino Staff Fired and Fined for $287K in Illegal Proxy Bets

The offenses centered on several employees from Live! Casino Sportsbook accepting and placing 15 proxy bets amounting to $287,421 over an eight-day period for a customer who was not physically present at the casino. Prohibited by both casino policy and Pennsylvania state regulations, these proxy wagers were made through phone calls. The Gaming Act of the state also makes it illegal to accept bets from any person other than the one making them.

Three sportsbook staff members engaged in accepting and placing such bets have been fired while their licenses to work for casinos were canceled following this breach. The gambler has been prohibited from gambling again anywhere in Pennsylvania after being put under the involuntary exclusion list which is maintained by PGCB.

PGCB Denies Exclusion List Removals, Emphasizes Child Safety in Casino Environments

Apart from addressing issues related to proxy betting, other regulatory concerns were dealt with by the PGCB during the same meeting. Requests for removal from the Involuntary Exclusion List were denied by the board against two persons who had left children unattended while they gambled. This move was aimed at reinforcing protection measures set up by PGCB towards minors’ welfare as well as responsible gambling initiatives.

The PGCB noted: “Actions such as these to deny statewide gambling privileges serve as a reminder that adults are prohibited from leaving minors unattended in the parking lot or garage, a hotel, or other venues at a casino since it creates a potentially unsafe and dangerous environment for the children. To complement the efforts by casinos to mitigate this issue, the Board created an awareness campaign, “Don’t Gamble with Kids”.”

Following the regulatory action, Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia expressed its commitment towards compliance as well transparency stressing the need for training staff on how to identify and prevent proxy wagering while FanDuel which is a partner to Live! Casino has intensified the frequency of training exercises among workers so that they can ensure strict adherence to the laws.In other news, the PGCB fined Wind Creek Bethlehem $125,000 for allowing underage individuals to gamble on the casino floor.

The post Live! Casino Philadelphia Fined $100,000 by PGCB for Proxy Betting Violations appeared first on Keno Wizard.

The 16-year-old boy, whose name has not been released to the media, placed the wagers between May and September 2022, The Guardian originally reported.

Teenager Spent Only a Few Minutes Wagering at a Time

A comment provided by the Preston Hotel legal representative, Ben Niall, explained that the teenager had only spent a few minutes betting before leaving the venue each time, and the total, $2,500 was indeed a small amount of what the boy had spent in other venues.

According to the publication, the teenager had been struggling with gambling addiction and had raked up to $95,000 of gambling debt. The boy is said to have gambled at least $100,000 at various venues across Australia.

The boy’s mother discovered her son’s addiction in April 2022 and had since sought help, but she kept hitting a dead end as most organizations – some 30 contacted in total – not be able to intervene and advised the mother to not allow her son access to money.

The mother had re-mortgaged her home and taken on extra work to cover the gambling debts. In the meantime, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission has looked into the venues that supposedly allowed the teenager to spend money there, despite his addiction and not being of the appropriate gambling age.

Niall told the court that his client did not want to see children gambling and stated that the venue wanted to operate as a legitimate business and not prey on vulnerable individuals, let alone teenagers.

Although true, the onus is always on the venue and provider of gambling products to ensure that people who are not of the legal gambling age or suffer from gambling addiction, are unable to access their products, as confirmed by Magistrate Carolyn Howe.

Venues Need to Beef Up Their Screening of Who They Let Gamble

The case has made it all the way through to a Melbourne court where the details bout the case came to light. Problem and underage gambling is a serious issue in Australia, with the country undertaking a slew of measures designed to overhaul the industry and create a safer gambling framework for all.

The country has just introduced a credit card ban for online gambling, which will be coming into effect over the next six months (counting from royal ascent onwards).

Recently, eight venues and Tabcorp have been named by the VGCCC, but it’s not yet entirely clear if that statement has to do specifically with the story of the 16-year-old gambler, as revealed by the court.

The post Melbourne Pub Fined over 16-Year-Old Gambling at the Venue appeared first on Keno Wizard.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has taken decisive action against three commercial casinos in the state for engaging in unauthorized sports betting activities. Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casino have been slapped with penalties amounting to $50,000 for accepting wagers on college games, which is strictly prohibited under state law.

The swift intervention by the MGC came after it was discovered that each of the casinos allowed bets on regular season games involving Massachusetts college sports teams, a clear violation of the state’s regulations. These bets managed to slip through the cracks due to various backend errors and system glitches, leading to the imposition of fines to maintain the integrity of the sports betting market.

One such incident occurred at Encore Boston Harbor, where a single sports bet was accepted on a women’s regular season basketball game between Boston College and Notre Dame. This wager was inadvertently allowed as the team was listed under two different names, with only one name appearing on the prohibited list. To prevent future occurrences, Encore’s vendor, WynnBet, has undertaken to conduct two daily audits, ensuring that no regular season games involving Massachusetts college teams are available for betting.

Similarly, MGM Springfield faced penalties for accepting wagers on two Harvard men’s basketball games. The casino‘s sports betting vendor, BetMGM, had erroneously designated the location of Harvard as Connecticut instead of Massachusetts, leading to the unauthorized bets. To rectify the situation, BetMGM swiftly corrected the error and committed to thoroughly reviewing all past sports wagers to ensure compliance with the rules.

Plainridge Park Casino also faced compliance issues, allowing 33 bets across 27 tickets on a men’s regular season basketball game between Merrimack College and Long Island University. A backend data entry error was responsible for this discrepancy, and the casino’s sports wagering vendor, Kambi, promptly rectified the mistake by correcting Merrimack College’s location listing from Florida to Massachusetts.

While the fines may seem relatively small considering the robust legal sports betting market in Massachusetts, the MGC is sending a clear message to all operators that adherence to betting rules is non-negotiable. As the state’s sports betting industry continues to thrive, the importance of stringent oversight and enforcement cannot be understated.

The MGC’s actions demonstrate its commitment to upholding the integrity of sports betting in Massachusetts, regardless of the scale of the violations. As the market continues to evolve, it is vital for all stakeholders to work together to maintain the highest standards of legality and transparency.

As operators adapt to the MGC’s strict compliance measures, the fines serve as a reminder that the regulator will leave no stone unturned to ensure the continued integrity and success of the state’s legal sports betting landscape. Cooperation from all parties involved will be crucial in shaping the future of sports betting in Massachusetts.
More casino & gambling news

The post Massachusetts Casinos Fined For Unlawful College Sports Bets appeared first on Keno Wizard.

The global independent body established to protect the integrity of tennis around the world, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), announced it imposed a new regulatory sanction against a Bolivian tennis chair umpire. The ITIA said that the umpire, Heriberto Morales Churata, received a temporary ban from the sport after an investigation uncovered that he manipulated scores for betting purposes.

The aforementioned breaches, the Agency said, date back to events in 2021, as well as 2022, within the ITF World Tennis Tour. The umpire, who is also a green badge official, manipulated data for some of the events by entering incorrect scores into a handheld device. As a result, Churata was sanctioned by the ITIA with a six-year ban.

In light of the ban, the umpire is prohibited to officiate at any tennis event that is authorized or sanctioned by the governing bodies of tennis. What’s more, the ban restricts Churata from attending events under the ITIA. Besides the six-year ban, the Agency imposed a $10,000 fine against the Bolivian tennis umpire.

“Morales Churata, a green badge official, was found to have manipulated scores for betting purposes by incorrectly entering scores into the handheld device at ITF World Tennis Tour events in 2021 and 2022. In addition to the ban, the official has been fined $10,000,“

explains a statement released by the ITIA

The Tennis Integrity Body Uncovers Multiple Breaches

Upon investigating, the ITIA uncovered multiple breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP). The integrity watchdog explained that it found that Churata breached Section D.1.b, Section D.1.m and Section D.2.b.i of the 2021 TACP. Those sections prohibit covered persons from manipulating the outcomes of tennis matches and demand any breaches to be reported.

Additionally, the ITIA said that the umpire breached the same sections from the 2022 TACP. Five breaches were recorded for each of the sections, while at the same time, Churata breached Section D.2.b.ii of the 2021 and 2022 TACP. This section in particular requires any suspected manipulations or breaches to be reported.

According to the ITIA, the latest case was dealt under its 2023 TACP “agreed sanction” framework which allows the implementation of a sanction without a hearing and upon admission of the offenses. As a result, Churata’s ban was implemented on December 8, 2022, which marked the start of his provisional suspension. Given the sanction, the umpire will be banned from the sport through December 7, 2028.

The post Bolivian Tennis Chair Umpire Fined and Banned over Match-Fixing appeared first on Keno Wizard.

Crown Casino has been issued a $30 million fine for violating problem gambling and money laundering regulations and allowing gamblers in Melbourne to deposit bank cheques made out to themselves.

The fine was issued by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commision (VGCCC), which also claimed that Victoria’s 2021 royal commission into Crown Casino discovered that the gambling giant allowed punters to gamble at its Southbank casino with uncleared bank checks.

Under state laws, casinos are authorised to accept cheques only on certain occasions. Their use is strictly controlled to prevent potential issues like money laundering and fraud.

The VGCCC stated that the Crown’s “serious contravention” was an undocumented practise that undermined controls. Casinos are required to document all their practises to properly inform the regulator of their activities.

TOP: AUSTRALIAN ONLINE CASINOS

In a statement on Thursday, VGCCC chair Fran Thron revealed that the commission would delve even further into Crown’s practises to ensure no more regulations were flouted.

“This is the second time we’ve taken action on undocumented practises at the casino, and we will investigate further to ensure there are no more. To be clear, we will not allow the casino to conceal its practises to avoid scrutiny,” Thorn said.

“Practises like accepting bank cheques expose Crown to the risk of money laundering, put patrons at risk of gambling harm, and compromise our ability to ensure the casino runs with integrity, safety, and fairness.”

The regulator discovered that between 1994 and 2021, when Crown allowed gamblers to use bank cheques in exchange for gambling chips, over $1.5 billion worth of checks may have exchanged hands.

In one case, long-time gambler Ahmed Hasna, who was a frequent customer of the Southbank casino between 1993 and 2019, gave a cheque for $100,000 to Crown in exchange for gambling chips. Before the cheque was cleared, the gambling firm honoured it by giving Mr. Hasna $100,000 worth of chips.

It was eventually discovered that the cheque bounced. To recover its gambling chips provided on credit, Crown reportedly told Mr Hasna, who was suffering financial hardship and gambling addiction at the time, that he could continue gambling at the casino.

The punter was also allowed to retain his highest-tier black card privileges as long as the $100,000 debt was repaid from future winnings.

Although the VGCCC could not build up suspicions about Crown’s use of blank cheques, the regulator has ordered the company to ban bank cheque and blank check practises. Crown’s policies are surrounding bank cheques also under review, as are policies concerning other undocumented activities in the Melbourne gambling venue.

A spokesperson for Crown Resorts stated that they had accepted the fine and intended to work with the regulator and Victorian government to deal with this and other issues discovered by the Royal Commission.

“These practises have ceased, and we have implemented significant improvements to reduce and prevent risk across our business,” they said.

“Under new ownership and leadership, our Future Crown program is driving whole-of-company reform as we continue to uplift our culture and build a Crown that exceeds the expectations of our stakeholders and the community.”

This is the third time Crown Casino has been issued a monetary penalty following the royal commission’s discovery that the company was unsuitable to hold a gambling licence. It was given two years to prove its suitability.

The post Crown Casino Fined $30m By Victorian Gambling Watchdog appeared first on Keno Wizard.

FIAU conducted an investigation that uncovered a serious need for an overhaul in Casino Malta’s internal procedures, especially ones concerning risk assessment, but other administrative shortcomings were also heavily outlined in the resulting report.

Multiple Breaches Established in FIAU Investigation

According to information from Malta Today, FIAU’s investigation found that the Eden Leisure Gaming-owned St Julian’s casino systematically failed in enhanced due diligence processes, especially with identifiable high-risk players. The report has it that this was evident in around 28% of the cases that FIAU reviewed during its investigation.

Another reason for the substantial €229,000 (approximately $242,500) fine was that Casino Malta breached several other laws, in addition to established regulations on risk assessments. This means that FIAU’s investigation and administrative fee will most likely be followed by multiple follow-up directives, which can also have consequences for the establishment.

FIAU’s investigation also uncovered that in around 20% of the profiles reviewed, the players were assigned a low or medium risk rating. This was despite their exhibiting behavior that can be a flag for high risk of money laundering, such as the size of the transactions, for example. 10% of the reviewed profiles didn’t have a permanent address, and 6% had given incorrect foreign addresses.

Another serious deficiency was that the casino often relied on self-reported information about its customers’ occupation details, with around 12% of the profiles providing only basic information. The same approach was extended to establishing the source of funds checks, without which a casino’s risk assessment practices can’t be adequate.

Examples of the Casino’s Risk Assessment Deficiencies

Multiple examples of the casino’s breaches were made public. A Turkish company chief executive was allowed to gamble more than €1 million (more than $1.06 million) all in cash from eight different banks and was assigned a low-risk status. Another player gambled more than €2 million ($2.12 million) and lost almost half of that and his SOF check consisted of establishing that his funds were coming from a reputable bank.

FIAU said that this was not sufficient for establishing the source of funds and only served as information about the flow of funds. This is a drastically insufficient approach to the risk assessment process, and there were multiple other instances where the casino’s risk assessment and due diligence came up short of what is legally required.

A former politically exposed person (PEP) was allocated a low-risk rating, which is incorrect. The PEP registered in 2015 and after the casino identified that he was allegedly involved in tax evasion and bribery in 2019, he was still allowed to gamble with large amounts of cash. FIAU added that the casino also failed to submit a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) for the case.

Another STR-related failing was with a business owner who owed €500,000 in unpaid taxes – a fact the casino was aware of – and was still assigned the low-risk rating by the casino in 2019. Such a large sum owed in back taxes can be indicative of possible tax evasion – another well-known fact. However, because of the casino’s insufficient customer risk assessment (CRA), an STR was not submitted.

The post Casino Malta Fined $242K Over Due Diligence Failings appeared first on Keno Wizard.

Reno, Nevada-based Monarch Monarch Casino’s Colorado online sportsbook has been levied a fine of $400,000 for accepting proxy bets from nearly a dozen bettors. The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission imposed the penalty because taking or placing bets for another person is illegal in Colorado. The sportsbook is operated out of Monarch Black Hawk Casino in Black Hawk, Co.

The bets were taken over the company’s sports betting app, BetMonarch. The company announced on Thursday that it would switch its geolocation provider from the current app provider, Stadium Solutions – a provider of sportsbetting platforms owned by Entain – to a near monopoly holder in the vertical in the United States, GeoComply.

According to an article found on CIOReview, a leading print and digital magazine for enterprise technology vendors & buyers, the State of Delaware also uses Stadium enterprise solutions but makes no mention of geolocation services. The review appears to claim that the company provides a platform to 17 of 21 sportsbetting host systems in Nevada.

Geolocation Not Usually so Easily Defeated

Geolocation services normally track the GPS location of a mobile phone and use other data such as nearby WiFi traffic to identify the phone’s location within a state’s boundaries with near absolute certainty. Proxy betting is one of if not the only ways to defeat the safeguards. Proxy betting is also used in land-based casinos, especially in Asia, to defeat travel restrictions as well as for unscrupulous actors to collect commissions on bets placed by high rollers from out of the area.

The breaches were purportedly discovered by the operator in June and self-reported to the regulator, resulting in the negotiated settlement.

The ensuing investigation found that more than $60,000 in wagers were placed for customers by three Monarch employees over about a year and a half spanning January 2021 through June 2022. Almost 80 bets were placed for 11 bettors in violation of the prohibition.

The company’s online sportsbook manager reportedly placed 60 of those bets after accessing the registered gamblers’ accounts. The manager and two other lead persons in the sportsbook division were suspended when the activity was discovered and later all three were fired.

Most of the bets came from players who were out of state at the time the bets were placed. Due to federal laws criminalizing interstate sports betting, geolocation services are critical to a provider’s compliance with state law as laws in every state are only passed to allow intra-state sportsbetting if operators can guarantee no out-of-state bets can be placed.

It’s unclear how the switch to GeoComply from Stadium will solve the problem going forward due to intellectual property rights and trade secrets. The Stadium system was defeated fairly easily and Geocomply may have other layers of security as it is a stand-alone solution whereas Stadium’s was part of an entire enterprise solution and management system.

System Didn’t Analyze Transactions Deeply Enough

However, the settlement agreement stated: “Stadium did not analyze geolocation transactions to detect the use of multiple device IDs and unrealistic location ‘jumping’ in order to identify potential proxy bets for out-of-state patrons.”

In the aforementioned CIO review, it stated that the “CEO of Stadium Solutions emphasized the complexity involved in creating [the]

.”

In one case at Monarch, a patron in Florida contacted the sportsbook manager to help him place a bet and within minutes the gambler had sent his username and password to the manager in an SMS.

The bettor was able to make a deposit and within minutes a bet was made through his account. Investigators were able to determine that the manager placed the bet on his own work cellphone from within the state’s boundaries with the manager’s home address recorded via GPS at that time.

Several months later the same client sent the manager screenshots of the bets he wanted to place and nearly 50 bets were placed from within Colorado.

The settlement agreement stated: “Many of the screenshots displayed the time, which was two hours ahead of Mountain time, indicating [the patron]

.”

The client was interviewed nearly a year later and admitted to officials that he was in Florida when the bets were placed. It’s unclear if any federal crimes are being investigated at this time.

Monarch received a $5,000 fine for each illegally placed bet as well as another fine of $5,000. The company has 10 days to pay half of the fine with the other half suspended for two years unless another violation occurs in that time.

Source: Monarch Fined $400K for Proxy Betting, Switches to GeoComply for Geolocation Services, Casino.org, February 17, 2023

The post Monarch has been fined for allowing out-of-state proxy bets on Colorado sports app appeared first on Keno Wizard.