Gaming authorities in Nevada have fined CG Technology $250,000 and ordered that the sportsbook operator get all of its equipment and technology out of Nevada. The settlement is pending the Nevada Gaming Commission’s approval which is expected to happen on August 23rd.
All of CG Technology’s products will be removed and they won’t ever be considered for approval in Nevada again.
As part of the settlement, CG Technology will transition to a third-party’s sports pool wagering system within the next 6 months. While they will still be able to operate seven Las Vegas sportsbooks, they will need to use another manufacturer’s equipment.
This isn’t the first time that CG Technology has been in hot water. The company was fined in 2014 and again in 2016 following a multi-agency investigation into their role in illegal gambling and money laundering between 2009 and 2013. CG Technology paid a $5.5 million in 2014 and then a $1.5 million fine in 2016. This led to the dismissal of Lee Amaitis who was the CEO at the time.
CG then agreed to pay $22.5 million to resolve the investigations. After ousting Amaitis, the company rebranded itself from Cantor Gaming to CG Technology.
This time, a four-count complaint accused the company of accepting mobile wagers from bettors outside of Nevada. The sportsbook operator was ordered to fix their system after a mobile wager was accepted from Maryland in 2016. They failed to do so and 33 more out of state bets were accepted from Arizona, Texas, and California and a couple of other states.
They also accepted bets on a college football game that was already over. Then, CG miscalculated payouts on approximately 1,500 bets due to a change of odds on a single game. To top it off, CG set up a sports betting station during a Super Bowl party that was held in an unidentified Las Vegas casino.
Mitigating Factors Leads To Lower Fine
In its judgment, the Control Board took the company’s disciplinary history into consideration but decided to fine the company just $250K due to “favorable mitigating factors”. It was actually CG that reported themselves and they agreed to abandon their own technology. The settlement states that CG made an honest effort to be in compliance with the Gaming Control Act as well as the commission’s regulations.
Terrible Timing
All of this is happening just as sports betting is rapidly expanding on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that paves the way for states to legalize sports betting. New Jersey, Delaware, and Mississippi have opened up sportsbooks at casinos and racetracks.
Even though CG Technology runs sportsbooks in two of Penn National Gaming’s Las Vegas casinos, Penn National recently opted to partner with William Hill in their West Virginia Operations and they are now expected to partner up with them in other states as well. It looks likes like this latest debacle could mean the end of CG Technologies altogether.
About the Author
