The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has ordered Great Canadian Entertainment to pay $170,000 in monetary penalties after a compliance audit found shortcomings in how Pickering Casino Resort identified, assessed and reported suspected money laundering activity.
According to the regulator, the audit uncovered several areas where the casino operator fell short of Ontario’s gaming standards. The AGCO said multiple high-risk patrons were not properly assessed or monitored, while Suspicious Transaction Reports that should have been submitted were not filed in several instances.
Ontario’s gaming rules require casino operators to maintain effective systems for detecting and responding to suspicious activity, including suspected money laundering. The regulator says those safeguards are designed to protect the integrity of the province’s gaming industry by ensuring potentially unlawful conduct is identified and reported.
Ontario penalizes Pickering Casino over compliance lapses
The AGCO said the audit determined Great Canadian Entertainment lacked adequate processes to identify and help prevent unlawful activity at Pickering Casino Resort. Investigators also found the company did not carry out sufficient risk assessments or properly monitor and analyze player transactions for potential warning signs of illegal activity.
The regulator also alleged the operator failed to put in place risk-based policies and procedures that included escalating responses for patrons whose behavior matched recognized indicators of possible money laundering. Those findings led to the monetary penalties issued under Ontario’s gaming standards.
“The AGCO requires casino operators to take a proactive approach to identifying and reporting suspicious activity,” said Dr. Karin Schnarr, AGCO’s Registrar and Chief Executive Officer. “When high-risk behaviour is not properly monitored or reported, it weakens important safeguards that protect the integrity of Ontario’s gaming sector. The AGCO will continue to hold operators accountable to high standards of responsible operation.”
The commission said gaps in identifying and reporting suspicious activity can reduce the effectiveness of safeguards intended to detect unlawful conduct. It added that such failures may also erode public confidence in Ontario’s regulated gaming sector.
Great Canadian Entertainment can appeal the order if it chooses. Under Ontario’s regulatory process, a casino operator that receives an Order of Monetary Penalty has 15 days to challenge the Registrar’s decision before the Licence Appeal Tribunal, an independent adjudicative body within Tribunals Ontario.
The AGCO regulates Ontario’s alcohol, cannabis, gaming and horse racing sectors. The agency says it follows a risk-based regulatory approach that emphasizes compliance, integrity and public safety while protecting the public interest.
The penalties announced Tuesday apply specifically to compliance findings at Pickering Casino Resort related to the identification, monitoring and reporting of suspected money laundering activity.
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