Casino Bidder Under Investigation

Las Vegas Sands, a company that has indicated serious interest in the Ontario casino market, is under investigation in Nevada to determine whether the company broke bribery laws in securing casinos is mainland China.

According to a report from Reuters, the company which is responsible for the majority of gaming dollars in Macau, is currently under investigation by the Nevada Gaming and Control Board. This investigation comes on top of reviews by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Among other issues, it highlighted tens of millions of dollars spent through intermediaries to secure space for the Adelson Center for U.S.-China Enterprise, a nonprofit Beijing project intended as a resource for American companies pursuing ventures in China that was later shelved. It is unclear where all of that money ended up."

According to news reports, in late July, the casino giant "officially" entered the running to build a Toronto casino.

In May, while discussing Toronto’s waterfront as a prime spot for an “iconic” casino-resort, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. chair Paul Godfrey cited lavish Marina Bay Sands in Singapore as a possible model.

Las Vegas Sands is one of several companies that have indicated an interest in the OLGs "Modernization Strategy" for gaming in the province. Earlier this year, the government announced it would end the current Slots at Racetracks program and has begun a Request For Proposal process to determine which companies will build gaming facilities in the province.

Have something to say about this? Log in or create an account to post a comment.