The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has issued an order of monetary penalty totalling CAD $70,000 to the casino operator MGE Niagara Entertainment for AML violations at the Fallsview Casino Resort.
The Ontario gambling authority has stated that in April 2023, a person attended the Salon Privé at Fallsview Casino and “presented $80,000 in strapped $100 bills from a grocery bag”.
Once the money was counted and confirmed, surveillance of the area showed that the person left the table with casino chips without playing at that time. The casino failed to notify the AGCO and on-site police of the transaction despite the person previously being identified as ‘high risk’.
In addition, the authority has claimed that MGE Niagara Entertainment “failed to take any meaningful steps to ascertain and corroborate the patron’s source of funds” as required by AML rules set out in the Registrar’s Standards for Gaming.
The AGCO stated that contrary to section 3.8 of the Gaming Control Act, MGE Niagara Entertainment is alleged to have failed to comply with the following provisions of the standards:
6.1.5 – Report suspicious behaviour, cheating at play and unlawful activities in accordance with the established notification matrix.
6.3.2 – Implement policies, procedures and controls that specify times and situations, based on the assessment of risk, where the Operator will ascertain and reasonably corroborate a patron’s source of funds.
An order of monetary penalty totalling $70,000 has been served to MGE Niagara Entertainment for these alleged infractions. The operator has the right to appeal the Registrar’s action to the Licence Appeal Tribunal, an adjudicative tribunal independent of the AGCO and part of Tribunals Ontario.
Dr Karin Schnarr, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar at the AGCO, commented: “The AGCO is committed to protecting the public interest and public safety and remains vigilant in its efforts to guard against potential money laundering at Ontario’s gaming sites.
“Casino operators are important front-line partners in this effort and the AGCO holds all operators to rigorous standards when it comes to the prevention of unlawful activity.”
