Dozens of alleged violations of regulatory procedures, rules, and policy enforcement are cited in official statements from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has imposed a huge fine on Hard Rock’s subsidiary Rideau Carleton. Tom Mungham, chief operating officer of AGCO since 2020, said in a statement that the penalties were intended to drive the improvements needed at the Rideau Carleton Casino. Thirty-six regulatory failings were addressed by the AGCO, all with varying degrees of severity.
Repeatedly, failing to adhere to anti-money laundering policies and breaching procedures. Advertising to people who had self-excluded from gambling activities was added to the list of the more severe alleged shortcomings. Other noteworthy violations include incomplete or completely lacking staff training in AML policies and best practices, insufficient data and gaming systems protections against security vulnerabilities, and the list goes on.
Ensuring that casinos are operating with honesty, integrity, and in the public interest is the responsibility of AGCO. According to the AGCO statement, the standards exist to protect Ontarians, and audits of gaming operators are one of the tools the AGCO regularly uses as part of its regulatory oversight of the gaming industry. The final date to complete all internal changes hasn’t been specifically cited, but the AGCO will be “carefully monitoring the casino’s activities” to ensure that all the alleged findings are addressed. After the completion of AGCO’s audit, HR Ottawa was fined a lot.
Rideau Carleton Casino made a statement on its own. The majority of issues uncovered during the audit have been quickly and aggressively addressed by the general manager, according to the report. She used strong language to assure the company that it was prepared to clean up its act. There has been some change in personnel as part of the process.
This is not the only six-figure gaming fine made by AGCO. It is not the only one in the last 30 days. At the beginning of the month, we saw DraftKings fined in Ontario as well. The standard document issued to operators in such cases was the company’s own Notice of Monetary Penalty.
The AGCO created and monitored the Standards for Internet Gaming, which were cited as the reason for the huge fine in DraftKings case. The rules for advertisement were the root of DraftKings’ weaknesses.
All types of gaming inducements and bonuses, as well as generally all promotional materials, will only be served after explicit consent from individual customers. During the NHL playoffs, DraftKings aired advertisements on TV and promoted odds as boosters on its website. As soon as it was brought to its attention that it was breaching regulations, the company removed the bonuses.
Summary:
Canada’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has fined Hard Rock’s subsidiary Rideau Carleton, operating in Ottawa, a total of $227,000 (over 1.9 crore) for “repeatedly” failing to adhere to anti-money laundering policies and breaching procedures. A total of 36 regulatory failings were addressed by the AGCO, all with varying degrees of severity.