The Nevada Gaming Commission has officially issued a $100,000 fine to Caesars subsidiary William Hill US as part of a settlement against the operator.
Michael Somps, Senior Deputy Attorney General, said that the fine was the result of a complaint that pointed out a flaw in William Hill’s sportsbook and horseracing betting system that had been present since 2015. There were four counts in relation to this complaint.
According to the complaint, the flaw had allowed “erroneous duplicate wagers to occur”. This meant that if a bettor had placed one wager on an event against certain odds, this would be duplicated multiple times. However, this would only happen if certain conditions were met.
Somps said that once this flaw was identified, the Nevada Gaming Commission board was not made aware of it. According to state regulations, the board should have been made aware within three working days.
The second count sought to hold William Hill responsible for the extent of the existence of the flaw, and how long it went unaddressed.
Count three pointed out issues with William Hill’s customer service. These included being kept on hold for long periods of time, slow responses to queries and difficulties in speaking to customer service representatives.
The fourth count – specifically in relation to William Hill Nevada One – alleged that William Hill did not immediately notify the board over a suspected theft committed by one of its employees at its Red Garter Hotel and Casino location.
Somps confirmed that the respondents had agreed to pay a fine of $100,000 subject to the Commission’s approval. This approval was handed down by the Commission.
Jeff Hendrix, senior vice president and assistant general counsel for regulatory and compliance at Caesars Entertainment said that Caesars – which owns William Hill’s US business – took responsibility for the failings.
“Caesars has acknowledged certain shortcomings noted in the complaint, especially as they relayed the difficulties encountered during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Hendrix “Casears takes regulatory compliance very seriously, and has stood up to address these matters.”
“We are very hopeful and confident that these issues will not arise again.”
Caesars completed its £2.9bn acquisition of William Hill in April 2021, purchasing William Hill’s 1.08 billion shares for £2.72 each. The deal was first announced in September 2020.
The deal was mainly to acquire William Hill’s US betting and technology services, with a plan to sell the non-US assets at a later date.
This occurred in July this year, when 888 acquired William Hill’s non-US assets for £1.95bn.