Criminal charges against Las Vegas professional gambler William West Roberts have been dismissed after he was accused of operating a multimillion-dollar illegal bookmaking operation, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports.
Roberts was arrested in April and charged with operating a gaming establishment without a valid license, accepting compensation for bets without a gaming license and unlawfully accepting wagers from a Nevada resident. The charges were recently dismissed according to court records.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board had investigated Roberts for several years with assistance from the FBI. Authorities alleged he accepted bets through an online platform based in Costa Rica and used funds connected to his businesses, including Ace’s Family Fitness and sports betting picks service Wild Bill Sports Consulting.
According to the Gaming Control Board, Roberts wagered approximately $8m at Nevada sportsbooks and was listed in 334 cash transaction reports totalling more than $7m between January 2022 and January 2026.
Investigators also used an informant and an undercover agent who allegedly placed wagers with Roberts between September 2025 and January 2026.
Roberts denies operating as a bookmaker, saying he is a professional gambler who provides sports betting picks for a fee. He also disputed allegations that he used offshore betting platforms to accept wagers, claiming he monitored offshore sites to track betting lines.
Despite the dismissal, the case may not be over. Prosecutors served Roberts with a Marcum notice on August 13, indicating he could be the target of a grand jury investigation.
Roberts’ attorney Chris Rasmussen said the allegations were false and pointed to an FBI investigation that he said was closed without charges.
Last week, the Nevada Gaming Commission fined The Venetian $7.2m for allowing convicted illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer to gamble at the casino between 2019 and 2021
