AGCO orders $170,000 penalty over anti-money laundering lapses at Pickering casino

Ontario's gaming regulator has ordered Great Canadian Entertainment (GCE) to pay $170,000 in monetary penalties for failing to identify and report potential money laundering at Pickering Casino Resort.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced the penalties on July 7, 2026. It said a compliance audit of the Pickering casino uncovered the problems. The regulator did not say when the audit took place or break the total down by violation.

What the audit found

According to the AGCO, GCE did not properly assess and track high-risk patrons, so those patrons did not get the enhanced scrutiny the rules require. The audit also found that suspicious transaction reports were not filed in several cases where patrons showed signs of potential money laundering.

The regulator said GCE breached section 6.1 of its gaming standards by lacking mechanisms to reasonably identify and prevent unlawful activity. That included inadequate risk assessments and poor monitoring and analysis of player transactions.

It also found a breach of section 6.3, which requires reasonable measures to identify and prevent suspected money laundering. The AGCO said GCE had not put in place risk-based policies with escalating steps for patrons who showed money laundering indicators.

"The AGCO requires casino operators to take a proactive approach to identifying and reporting suspicious activity," said Dr. Karin Schnarr, the AGCO's chief executive officer and Registrar.

Second penalty in days

The order follows a separate $120,000 penalty the AGCO announced against GCE on June 29 over unapproved bill validator software found in slot machines at four of its Ontario casinos.

GCE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Canadian Press. Like any casino operator served with an order of monetary penalty, it has 15 days to appeal to the Licence Appeal Tribunal, which is part of Tribunals Ontario and independent of the AGCO.