Casino-gaming company IGT to pay fine for retaliating against whistleblower: SEC

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - International Game Technology has agreed to pay a $500,000 penalty for firing an employee for telling the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the casino-gaming company's financial statements might be distorted, the SEC said on Thursday.

The employee was removed from significant work assignments within weeks of raising concerns about the company's cost accounting model, the SEC said. IGT conducted an internal investigation into the whistleblower's allegations and determined its reported financial statements contained no misstatements, the agency said.

Without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, IGT agreed to pay the penalty and cease and desist from committing or causing any further violations of whistleblower protections of the Securities Exchange Act.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)