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Recently, news broke out that Ontario casinos have handled a large number of suspicious cash transactions in 2022, which triggered some concerns among critics. Shortly after the news it was reported that a provincial government watchdog will review the casinos’ actions which accepted the cash without confirming the source of cash despite provincial rules.

It should be mentioned that in 2022, Ontario introduced new standards which require casinos to ascertain and reasonably verify a patron’s source of funds. This was implemented in an attempt to tackle money laundering activities, as it is common for criminals to try and wash their crime-originated money by playing with it at casino properties.

- Anti-Money Laundering Unit Gets to Work

Reports about the review of casinos’ operations come after it was revealed that a patron, Branavan Kanapathipillai made huge cash buy-ins across Ontario casinos over the last few years. He made approximately over CA$4 million in such transactions, including some big ones at Pickering Casino Resort in 2022, which was noticed by staff and it was reported.

In a statement, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario said that as the police investigation has concluded, the AGCO’s Anti-Money Laundering Unit will now kick a compliance review to assess if casino operators have met regulatory requirements under the Registrar’s Standards. The review will feature consideration of rules when it comes to implementing source of funds checks.

Police officers filed an application in a Newmarket Superior Court providing information on the history of Mr. Kanapathipillai’s transactions. For instance, in December 2016, he showed up with CA$80,000 in cash separated in bundles separated with elastics at Casino Rama. He claimed he received the money that way from Fallsview Casino Resort.

However, Fallsview Casino Resort disclosed that he deposited cash and then withdrew funds from his account there, which was unusual for his gaming activity. In another instance, in September 2022, at One Toronto Gaming, he collected CA$1,529,700 in large transactions and CA$1,348,115 in disbursements, and it was noted in the report that it may be a third-party source of funds.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is in charge of regulating gambling operations across the province and makes sure that sites comply with Standards in the public interest. Its new standards were implemented in January 2022, however, the volume of suspicious cash transactions throughout the year was around CA$372 million, which was a massive increase from previous years.

- Auditor General Probes Casino Protocols

Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk has also examined casinos and their anti-money laundering protocols. In her annual report, she disclosed that she hired and sent mystery shoppers for a sting operation at four Ontario casinos. There they were tasked with testing each casino’s anti-money laundering protocols and how easy it was to launder money through gambling.