Odds Shorten on CG Technology Losing Nevada Sportsbook License After Regulators Reject Settlement

Posted on: August 24, 2018, 07:48h. 

Last updated on: August 24, 2018, 07:52h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

CG Technology is one step closer to seeing its gaming license withdrawn in Nevada after state regulators denied a proposed $250,000 settlement for the company’s admitted violations.

CG Technology Nevada Gaming Commission
Nevada Gaming Commission Chair Tony Alamo says the offenses committed by CG Technology are deserving of a much more substantial fine. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Earlier this month, the sportsbook company and the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) agreed to the quarter of a million dollar fine after CG Technology disclosed numerous infractions to the agency. CG said it violated Nevada gaming laws by accepting out-of-state mobile wagers, both underpaid and overpaid customers, and accepted bets after events had already occurred.

While the NGCB and CG Technology thought they had reached a conclusion on the violations, the Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously rejected the settlement during its meeting this week.

I have zero appetite to move forward on this agreement,” Gaming Commission Chairman Tony Alamo explained.

Among CG Technology’s Las Vegas sportsbooks are The Palazzo and Venetian, Cosmopolitan, Hard Rock, and Tropicana.

Country Watching

The Supreme Court of the United States struck down the federal sports betting ban in May. The 6-3 decision gave states the right to determine their own laws on the gambling activity.

It’s also put gambling into the mainstream news, and many critics to the repeal are voicing concerns that sports betting, specifically mobile and online wagering, can’t be properly regulated.

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), one of the original authors of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act that the Supreme Court overturned, said following the repeal, “The problems posed by sports betting are much the same as they were 25 years ago. But the rapid rise of the internet means that sports betting across state lines is now just a click away.”

Of course, many in the gaming industry believe technology is more than capable of making sure someone who wishes to experience a real-money online casino or sportsbook is actually within the legalized border of the state. That’s why CG Technology’s shortcomings are what most angers Alamo.

“The country is watching. Sports betting has become front page and it’s a big deal. We are the gold standard,” Alamo told CG Technology CEO Parikshat Khanna.

CG Consequences

It’s not the first time CG Technology has violated Nevada gaming laws.

In 2014, the state levied a record $5.5 million fine after it came to light that one of the company’s executives was running an illegal side sportsbook. And just two years later, the company paid the state $1.5 million after CG admitted it didn’t fully pay out on winnings owed to customers to the tune of $700,000.

Alamo said the current violations warrant a much larger fine than $250,000, and suggested something nearer the $1.5 million mark the company was levied in 2016. Commissioner Deborah Fuetsch seemed to hint that license revocation should be strongly considered.

Fuetsch told Khanna, “You have been called to the principal’s office three times. When does this kid not get to come back to school? There needs to be a decision like that made.”

Alamo said the gaming commission will reevaluate the case in 30 days.