Ontario’s gaming regulator has fined Great Canadian Entertainment C$120,000 after finding unauthorized bill-validator software at four casinos. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario called the breach a serious compliance failure that bypassed safeguards meant to protect the integrity of casino gaming.
According to the commission, it reviewed 40 instances of revoked or unapproved software installed between Feb. 20 and March 15, 2025. The release did not name the four properties.
Bill validators are the devices inside gaming machines that accept cash and verify the authenticity and value of banknotes. The AGCO said they also support anti-money laundering controls.
The regulator’s Standards for Gaming require gaming equipment and software to be tested and approved before deployment. Its technical standards for wagering instrument peripherals say bill and coin validators must reject invalid instruments when possible, resist tampering and disable themselves in specified error or administrative conditions.
Those standards also require validator software to authenticate at each power-up and to provide a cryptographic hash or CRC so the installed version can be checked against software approved by the registrar or pre-approved conditions. The authentication requirement became effective on July 1, 2020.
Dr. Karin Schnarr, the AGCO’s chief executive and registrar, said operators must make sure their systems are independently tested, approved and operating as intended. She said unauthorized software in a live casino environment bypasses critical safeguards and erodes public confidence in the system.
An operator served with an Order of Monetary Penalty has 15 days to appeal to the Licence Appeal Tribunal, which is independent of the AGCO.
