Hawaiian Gardens Casino levied $2.8m fine by FinCEN for AML lapses

 Marie Kelley

 

 July 18, 2016

 

The United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced this past Friday that they were able to reach an agreement with the owners of the Hawaiian Gardens Casino, a card club of California, for violations the venue faced based on the Bank Secrecy Act. The casino will have to pay a $2.8m fine for being in violation of anti-money laundering regulations.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reported that the casino was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service in regards to the Bank Secrecy Act back in 2011 and three years later, in 2014. The IRS were able to uncover several violations from 2011 that had still not been dealt with by 2014. An independent consultant from the Hawaiian Gardens Casino identified the same issues a year earlier, in 2013.

The violations against the Hawaiian Gardens are in relation to several issues with the Bank Secrecy Act. The venue did not have an effective anti-money laundering program in place that was implemented and maintained. The venue did not report large cash transactions and did not file activity reports that were found to be suspicious. Required records were not always kept in regards to game play.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network collected the information of customers at the venue by using player club cards and have stated that 80% of the suspicious activity reports that were filed by the venue from early 2013 to late 2014 included at least one unknown subject. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network stated that the investigation shows a lack of interest by the casino to use all the tools available to them which allowed transactions to be anonymous and ‘frustrated record keeping’.

During investigations, it was found that staff of the Hawaiian Gardens were involved in helping customers to create transactions that could be kept from the reporting thresholds set by the federal government. It was found that the venue continued to work with individuals who had been identified as suspicious, by the actual casino, even when the individuals would not show identification. According to CalvinAyre, one suspect was able to take part in gaming at the Hawaiian Gardens even after 15 suspicious activity reports were filed against the player.

Jamal El-Hindi is the Acting Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network who commented on the matter, stating that the Hawaiian Gardens was lacking a culture of compliance and had allowed these violations to go on for years after ignoring the findings by the IRS as well as their own consultant.

On a side note, the Hawaiian Gardens is partnered with PokerStars, the online poker brand who is trying to be involved with online poker gaming within the state of California if regulations are put in place. PokerStars, owned by Amaya Gaming, partnered with the card room, along with other cards rooms and certain Indian tribes in the state to be ready for when online poker legislation passed.

However, legislation efforts have stalled and PokerStars is a hot point of contention as certain groups do not want to see the brand being able to operate once legislation is put in place. The violations of the card room may be a further deterrent for the online poker brand as they try to be included in the online poker operations in California.

Hawaiian Gardens opened a $90 million renovation and expansion earlier this year.

https://news.worldcasinodirectory.com/hawaiian-gardens-casino-levied-2-8m-fine-by-fincen-for-aml-lapses-31100

Presidential Hopeful Marco Rubio Supports Online Poker Carve-Out from iGaming Ban

October 31st, 2015 | by Greg Shaun

Presidential hopeful Marco Rubio supports Sheldon Adelson’s RAWA act to ban online gambling, but is in favor of carving out online poker. (Image: www.attackmachine.com)

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio is opposed to Internet gambling, and has said he will push to make sure it remains illegal.

However, he isn’t opposed to the legalization of online poker.

As Rubio continues his rise to the top of the GOP polls, he has taken on a strong stance against online gambling, which is a traditional conservative viewpoint.

Sharing that viewpoint is casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

The owner of the Venetian in Las Vegas has proposed the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) to Congress.

This bill, if passed, would eliminate the possibility of any state legalizing online gambling.

Adelson isn’t afraid to use his massive bankroll to his advantage in getting his way. He’s been known to line the pockets of politicians, so long as they vote in favor of anti-online gambling bills.

Adelson is the most vocal and strongest opposition for those fighting to legalize online poker. Many poker players refuse to play at Venetian due to Adelson’s incessant fight against all forms of Internet gambling.

Some would even say Adelson is far too obsessed with this issue.

Adelson disagrees with Rubio on the Internet poker issue.

While Rubio supports carving out poker from RAWA, Adelson remains in denial that poker is a game of skill and wants all forms of gambling included in the bill.

RAWA a Far-Fetched Dream?

Slowly but surely, individual states are hopping on board, legalizing online poker. Each state has a right to bring forth a bill that would allow licensed poker sites to operate within the state boundaries.

Most states have yet to pass such legislation, but things are looking up for the poker community.

Currently, New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware offer licensed, regulated online poker sites. Pennsylvania appears to be next in line. California poker advocates made a strong push for legislation in 2015 but were unsuccessful.

RAWA is a federal bill that would prevent any state from legalizing any form of online gambling.

Although Adelson spends countless hours, and dollars, trying to get congress to pass his bill, it appears to be nothing more than a silly Sheldon Adelson fantasy.

A federal Internet gambling ban is about as likely, if not less likely, as a federal bill that legalizes Internet gambling in all 50 states. Adelson has more money than he could ever spend, but money will only get him so far.

Why Rubio Supports iPoker Carve-Out

According to Rubio and anyone that is being honest, poker is a game of skill. Other forms of gambling, as Rubio has stated, are games of chance or luck. Therefore, Rubio says he will support a RAWA carve-out for iPoker.

Thousands of poker players around the United States have spent countless hours fighting for the right to play poker online.

If they want to see positive action taken in the coming years, they had better speak out in support of presidential candidates that support online gambling.

http://www.pokersites.com/news/presidential-hopeful-marco-rubio-supports-online-poker-carve-out-from-igaming-ban-8009

Tapie courts new controversy with Full Tilt rescue

Tapie courts new controversy with Full Tilt rescue
By Dominique Vidalon
PARIS (Reuters) - French entrepreneur Bernard Tapie risks fresh controversy by leading a rescue of betting site Full Tilt Poker which U.S. prosecutors accuse of running a Ponzi scheme.

Tapie, a friend of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has been prominent in French public life for three decades, often for his involvement in financial scandals, including one which has ensnared IMF head Christine Lagarde.

Tapie was found guilty of corruption in the 1990s and was jailed in 1997 for match-rigging when he controlled football club Olympique de Marseille.

His son Laurent Tapie, managing director of his father's holding company, has signed an exclusive agreement for Groupe Bernard Tapie to buy Full Tilt and its assets and repay money owed to Full Tilt's players, a U.S. lawyer for Full Tilt said in a phone interview.

"They are the most significant investors' group from the perspective of evidence of funding," said the lawyer, Jeff Ifrah.

"These guys are different because they have actually presented financial evidence of the fact that they can pull this off if they come to agreed-on terms with DOJ (the U.S. Department of Justice)."

U.S. federal prosecutors have accused Full Tilt of running a Ponzi scheme in which the company's owners and board members paid themselves half a billion dollars while defrauding players.

Any buyer will have to reach an agreement with the Justice Department to repay the players, and Tapie's group will begin those talks later on Monday, Ifrah said.

Full Tilt also had its gambling license revoked by the British Channel Island of Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) last month.

Bernard Tapie, 68, has re-invented himself numerous times as an actor, politician and sports commentator.

Groupe Bernard Tapie owns around 30 percent in International Stadiums Poker Tour, a poker tournament organizer.

Sarkozy's government last year legalized online poker and sports betting to boost tax revenue, a move that led to an explosion of online gambling sites.

Laurent Tapie founded the now defunct Free-goal.com and Livebetting.com sites.

In an interview with the iGambling France website, Laurent Tapie said his company has "the funds necessary to repay player debts" but that that there was "still a long way to go" before a final deal could be reached.

Separately, Bernard Tapie told Agence France Presse that his group may end up controlling "at most" 5-10 percent of a new shareholding structure for Full Tilt, suggesting there may be other investors.

"Using Full Tilt's valuation of $300 million, a figure that is doing the rounds but must be confirmed...Groupe Bernard Tapie's commitment could reach up to $30 million," French daily Les Echos said on Monday.

Tapie's name has been in the headlines this year over a 285 million euros arbitration payout he received at the end of a 15-year compensation battle against former state bank Credit Lyonnais over the sale of Adidas, the sportswear group he once controlled.

Christine Lagarde, formerly France's finance minister, approved the payment and prosecutors have accused her of complicity in the misuse of public funds. The International Monetary Fund head has denied any misconduct.

Tapie was also involved in a bitter dispute with the management of French resort operator Club Med in which he briefly held a small stake.

(Reporting By Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Christian Plumb and David Cowell)