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The Venetian Casino becomes the fourth having to pay a fine for its relationship with a San Juan Capistrano, California bookie
Mathew Bowyer was sentenced to just over a year in prison for illegal bookmaking
His clientele included the disgraced former translator of Major League Baseball star Shohei Ohtani, who would go on to plead guilty to tax fraud for stealing nearly $17 million from a bank account belonging to Ohtani
The Venetian Resort Las Vegas has agreed to pay a $7.2 million penalty to Nevada gaming regulators over compliance failures connected to convicted illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer and his gambling activity at the Strip property.
That casino joins three others that have agreed to pays fines in this matter. Each is alleged to have had business relationships with Bowyer, who was allowed to gamble in the Las Vegas casinos for years despite multiple red flags.
Resorts World Las Vegas was among the first to be scrutinized in the matter. That casino agreed to pay a $10.5 million fine last year, the biggest tied to the Bowyer-related gambling case.
MGM Resorts International (MGM Grand & Cosmopolitan) settled with a $8.5 million fine while Caesars Entertainment / Caesars Palace agreed to pay a $7.8 million fine.
“The board’s investigation revealed that Caesars and/or its subsidiary properties, including Caesars Palace, had identified, as early as April 2017 and on multiple subsequent occasions until he was banned by Caesars, suspicions regarding Bowyer’s activities, including that there was a lack of information regarding his source of funds and/or that his source of funds failed to justify his level of play,” the complaint read in part prior to Caesars agreeing to pay the hefty fine.
Bowyer operated an unlicensed and illegal bookmaking business that focused on sports betting and violated a California law that prohibits bookmaking. Bowyer’s gambling business remained in operation for at least five years until October 2023 and at times had more than 700 bettors.
(Matt Bowyer appears outside courthouse)
Major League Baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was among Bowyer's many clients. Mizuhara pleaded guilty to tax fraud for stealing nearly $17 million from a bank account belonging to Ohtani. He is currently serving a 57-month federal sentence.
Bowyer was sentenced last August to 12 months and one day in federal prison.
Bowyer received an early release from prison in March 2026 and was transferred to a Residential Reentry Center (halfway house) in Orange County, California. While there, he remained in federal custody but was allowed to leave during the day for work and to visit family under supervision.
The 50-year-old from San Juan Capistrano, California bookie was also ordered to pay $1,613,280 in restitution.
“[Bowyer’s] crimes were not a single indiscretion, but instead a multi-year operation that raked in millions of dollars for [Bowyer] and his associates to gamble and live an extravagant lifestyle, often through the exploitation of people [Bowyer] recognized were addicted and extending themselves beyond their means, money that was routed through multiple accounts and ultimately not reported to the government on [Bowyer’s] taxes,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.
According to regulators, Bowyer made around 30 visits to the Venetian during that period, depositing more than $22.3 million, wagering millions of dollars, and losing at least $3.6 million.
If approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission, The Venetian settlement will bring the total penalties linked to Bowyer-related compliance issues across four Strip operators to $34 million.
- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com
