.svg)
Caesars Entertainment will pay $78,750 to settle four complaints issued against its Horseshoe-branded casinos in Hammond and Indianapolis, as well as its Southern Indiana property and Harrah's Hoosier Park, according to agreements approved by the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC).
The amount was more than half of the approved fines totaling $140,50o issued by the commission against operators and suppliers for violations of state gaming statutes and regulations.
The first Caesars settlement resolves a five-count complaint brought against Horseshoe Indianapolis, including over how poker revenue was taxed, which led to several tax forms not being issued to patrons.
The IGC noted the poker room manager had been terminated “due to ongoing issues”.
In August, the IGC assigned a gaming agent to investigate an issue with how the poker tournament revenue was taxed and found that Horseshoe Indianapolis changed its tournament revenue from 15 percent to 20 percent.
But the change was not communicated to the state's Revenue Audit Department.
“As a result, from June 1 to July 23, 2023, Horseshoe Indianapolis did not calculate their tax based on the new 20 percent tournament revenue”, leading to $13,655 of under-reported revenue, the commission said.
Other violations include a cage cashier transporting $23,000 unescorted to the poker room cage, setting up a progressive slot machine incorrectly and allowing it to remain in operation for three days, violating the rules for sensitive keys and playing cards.
Horseshoe Indianapolis agreed to pay $33,500 to settle the complaint.
The IGC also issued a settlement agreement putting an end to a three-count complaint with Horseshoe Hammond that dealt with a gaming agent conducting a prohibited participant audit for Unibet and determining that there were 17 omissions from the list.
The gaming agent found that Horseshoe Hammond did not send Unibet the information for these prohibited patrons, causing the sports-betting operator to be non-compliant with state regulations.
Indiana gaming regulations define “prohibited participant” as an individual prohibited from participating in sports betting, one who is listed on the commission’s exclusion list, or who has voluntarily self-excluded.
An individual that has signed up for state-wide internet self-restriction is also prohibited from gambling.
The settlement also dealt with regulatory violations stemming from unsecured access to a soft-count room, as well as casino employees who had exceeded their three-year investigation date for licensing.
Horseshoe Hammond agreed to pay the commission $32,250.
Caesars Southern Indiana also agreed to pay $1,500 to settle a complaint over the use of “sensitive keys” that involved a table games supervisor leaving the property for a little over an hour with the keys at the end of a shift.
The company's Harrah's Hossier Park casino was fined $11,500 for violations of two regulations that govern the use and recordkeeping of keys that are sensitive to a casino's operations.
“Sensitive keys mean keys that either management or the commission considers sensitive to the casino licensee’s operation and therefore require strict control over custody and issuance,” and need to be returned and signed in at the end of an employee’s shift, according to Indiana gaming regulations.
The settlements were unanimously approved without comment by the seven-member commission on Monday (December 11).
The commission also agreed to settle regulatory complaints against various other casino and sports-betting operators, and licensed gaming suppliers.
