Could whistleblowers be used to stop casino money-laundering?

A member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board has proposed establishing a whistleblower program to reward people who provide information about money laundering occurring within the state’s casinos.

In a public statement at Wednesday’s board meeting, board member George Assad applauded the Nevada Gaming Commission for approving new regulations designed to prevent money laundering, but he wants to establish a program to help discover potential wrong-doing even faster by rewarding people who come forward with information leading to the apprehension of guilty parties.

“Perhaps a 1 percent reward if it leads to an apprehension of a money-laundering criminal or a scam,” Assad said. “One percent of $10 million is $100,000. That would be quite an incentive for someone to come forward.”

At its April 23 meeting, the Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously approved amendments to Regulation 5 on the operation of gaming establishments to require that casino regulatory compliance officers be vetted and licensed by regulators, making them accountable for preventing money laundering from occurring.

Three major casino companies — MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment Inc. and Resorts World Las Vegas — paid a total of $26.8 million in fines in disciplinary actions in 2025 over money-laundering matters.

In addition, California residents Wayne Nix and Mathew Bowyer were placed by the commission on Nevada’s List of Excluded Persons in March and April, respectively, for taking illegal sports wagers while laundering millions of dollars in illegal betting proceeds.

Assad said establishing a whistleblower program would be “an important tool in our toolbox” to prevent money laundering from occurring within the state’s casinos.

“We could have identified situations that occurred with Mr. Nix and Mr. Bowyer,” Assad said. “I would like to incorporate key sections of the old Regulation 6A into some new regulations that allow the board to receive information regarding suspicious financial transactions involving whales and large foreign financial transactions in Nevada casinos that are of a suspicious nature.”

Regulation 6A, which governed currency transaction reporting in the state, was repealed by the commission in 2007 after federal law enforcement officials took the lead role in enforcing anti-money-laundering laws.

Assad said repealing that regulation may have been a mistake.

“Why would you want to give up oversight of financial transactions in Nevada casinos to the federal government?” Assad asked. “They receive millions and millions of suspicious activity reports every year from banks and other financial institutions along with ours. So our suspicious activity reports that come from Nevada casinos pretty much get lost in the shuffle. We would have been much better off if we had maintained oversight over these suspicious activity reports.”

Taking back some of the responsibilities turned over to federal investigators, Assad said, would send a strong message that Nevada is capable of policing its own industry.

“It also sends the message to would-be money launderers that they will be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law, period,” he said. “And finally, I hope it sends a message to our licensees that no one whale is worth jeopardizing their privileged gaming license.”