Casino operator ordered to pay $170K after AGCO finds it failed to report potential money laundering

Pickering Casino Resort is seen in this undated photo. (CTV News Chopper)

Great Canadian Entertainment (GCE) has been ordered to pay $170,000 for failing to identify and report potential money laundering at Pickering Casino Resort, according to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

After completing a compliance audit of the Pickering Casino Resort, the AGCO said Tuesday it identified many failures by GCE to “properly assess and track high-risk patrons that were not subject to required enhanced scrutiny.”

The gaming commission also said it found mandatory suspicious transaction reports were not filed in many instances where patrons displayed potential money laundering indicators. The AGCO says this includes failing to implement risk-based policies and procedures that carry out escalating measures for patrons who exhibit this kind of behaviour.

The gaming commission says casino operators are required to have effective measures to identify and respond to suspicious activity on their grounds, as it maintains a well-regulated and safe gaming environment.

“When high-risk behaviour is not properly monitored or reported, it weakens important safeguards that protect the integrity of Ontario’s gaming sector,” Dr. Karin Schnarr, AGCO’s CEO and registrar, said in Tuesday’s release.

The AGCO will continue to hold operators accountable to high standards for responsible operations."

Last year in May, the AGCO had penalized Great Canadian Entertainment more than $150,000 after finding minors had allegedly gambled on four different occasions, including one instance at Pickering Casino Resort.

Any casino operator in Ontario can appeal the AGCO’s action within 15 days to the Licence Appeal Tribunal, an adjudicative and independent tribunal.