The U.S. gaming sector's string of recent compliance penalties have prompted many casinos to rethink how they implement anti-money laundering controls, according to Kim McCabe, founder of Henderson, NV-based consultancy KMC, LLC.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. will pay the U.S. Justice Department $47.4 million to settle allegations that it failed to identify $58 million in suspicious wire transactions and cashier's checks.
The expansion of the casino industry to new states throughout the U.S. increases the likelihood that gaming will grow as a vehicle for money laundering, particularly since the federal agency charged with its oversight is understaffed, according to law enforcement officials and former IRS auditors.
The Mirage, a large Las Vegas casino, failed to file possibly thousands of Currency Transaction Reports that were apparently filled out but never submitted to the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
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