Ontario’s gaming regulator has ordered Great Canadian Entertainment to pay C$170,000 after a compliance audit at Pickering Casino Resort found failings in how it identified, assessed and monitored high-risk patrons.
The audit also found that required Suspicious Transaction Reports were not filed in multiple cases where patrons showed indicators of potential money laundering.
According to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the company had failed to have mechanisms in place to reasonably identify and prevent unlawful activities at the casino, contrary to section 6.1 of the Standards for Gaming. It also said Great Canadian failed to have reasonable measures in place to identify and prevent suspected money laundering activities, contrary to section 6.3.
The regulator said those shortcomings included not conducting adequate risk assessments and not appropriately monitoring and analysing player transactions for possible unlawful activity. It also said the operator had not implemented risk-based policies and procedures with escalating measures for patrons whose behaviour matched money-laundering indicators.
Dr. Karin Schnarr, the AGCO’s chief executive and registrar, said the commission requires casino operators to take a proactive approach to identifying and reporting suspicious activity. She said weak monitoring or reporting undermines safeguards that protect the integrity of Ontario’s gaming sector.
The AGCO said failures of this kind weaken safeguards designed to detect unlawful conduct and can undermine public confidence in the province’s regulated gaming market. Great Canadian has 15 days to appeal the order to the Licence Appeal Tribunal.
The penalty was the latest in a series of regulatory hits for the company. Gaming Intelligence reported that it was the second six-figure fine Great Canadian had received from the AGCO in about ten days, after the regulator fined it C$120,000 on June 30 over unauthorised gaming software at four Ontario casinos.
BNN Bloomberg also reported that the company was penalised by more than $150,000 last May after minors allegedly gambled on four occasions, including one instance at Pickering Casino Resort.
