Casinos are popular vacation destinations, providing a variety of forms of entertainment, rest, and relaxation, with high-tech gaming floors, retail shops, amusement parks, and restaurants. Casinos and gaming facilities must adhere to strict regulations, among the most stringent of all businesses that operate within the United States. In a casino or a gaming facility, one mistake can lead to heavy fines and in very severe cases, the complete shutting down of business operations.
U.S. casino and gaming laws are governed by three sets of regulations, one each for local, state, and federal entities. In order to minimize the risk of being subject of criminal or regulatory actions, casinos must comply with an array of requirements including those for conducting risk assessments and screenings, establishing internal reporting systems and the use of security and surveillance technology.
With the large amounts of cash crossing over tables every day, it is essential – and required – for casino management to know who they are hiring. Regulations call for screening and background checks to be performed for all consultants, suppliers, vendors, distributors, advisors, lessees and tenants. Background screening will check for past criminal and regulatory transgressions, compliance violations, and any misleading or false information on an employee application or other documents that verify an identity. Additional screenings will include past or current litigation issues against any supplier, vendor, distributor, employee or anyone who conducts business with the casino.
In addition to comprehensive and stringent state gaming regulations, U.S. gaming operations are also subject to the federal Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and associated anti-money laundering (AML) statutes and regulations. As casinos are defined as “financial institutions” under the BSA, they must file currency transaction reports (CTRs) when a patron either provides to the casino or takes away from the casino more than $10,000 in currency during a casino’s defined 24-hour gaming day. Casinos also must file suspicious activity reports (SARs) when a casino knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect that a transaction that totals at least $5,000 involves funds derived from illegal activity; is intended to disguise funds or assets derived from illegal activity; is designed to avoid BSA reporting or recordkeeping requirements; uses the casino to facilitate criminal activity; and more.
One of the most powerful tools in ensuring compliance with gaming regulations and overseeing the conduct of gambling operations is a casino’s video surveillance system. Often, surveillance requirements and regulations require 30 days’ retention of video, while other regulations may require seven days, or three months. Virtually all gaming institutions are required to have surveillance cameras in place and operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Specific state requirements cover a range of factors, including the image quality; the number, capacity, quality and location of security cameras; procedures for video surveillance coverage, and policies regarding the retention of activity recorded on videotape. Even more, many jurisdictions require the supervision of the surveillance function to operate independent of gaming operations personnel and of management.
NAV has decades of expertise guiding casinos through the intricacies of compliance regulations and ensuring technology is installed following all requirements. Let us help you keep your casino up and running in line with your own local and regional regulations.
