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AGCO issues $100,000 penalty to NorthStar Gaming2 September 2026(PRESS RELEASE) -- The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has issued a $100,000 monetary penalty to NorthStar Gaming (Ontario) Inc. for alleged failures to comply with provincial anti-money laundering requirements. Ontario's regulated gaming operators are required to have risk-based controls in place to identify, assess and respond to potential money laundering risks. These controls are an important safeguard against Ontario's regulated gaming sector being misused for criminal activity. In this case, NorthStar Gaming's own AML policies identified a player's disclosed occupation as high risk and required the player to be classified as high risk and undergo Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD), including verification of source of funds, once the player's lifetime deposits reached $25,000. The player opened an account with NorthStar in March 2024 and reached the $25,000 deposit threshold within the same month. Despite the player's disclosed occupation and the threshold being reached, NorthStar did not classify the player as high risk, initiate the required EDD assessment or verify the player's source of funds. The AGCO's compliance review was prompted after the player was charged by police in connection with Project Outsource, a joint law enforcement effort targeting criminal activity, including extortion and violence, in the towing industry. NorthStar's AML policies also required the company to take escalating action when money laundering risk indicators were identified, including refusing transactions or excluding the player where appropriate. NorthStar did not take those measures. Instead, the player's deposits continued for more than a year. In December 2024 alone, the player deposited more than $55,000. By June 2025, total deposits had reached approximately $189,395. It was not until June 2025, following inquiries by the AGCO, that NorthStar classified the player as high risk and terminated the account - more than a year after the company's AML obligations had first been triggered. NorthStar Gaming has the right to request a hearing before the License Appeal Tribunal (LAT) within 15 days of being served with the Order of Monetary Penalty. LAT is an independent adjudicative body within Tribunals Ontario. Dr. Karin Schnarr, Registrar and CEO of the AGCO, said: “Operators are the first line of defence against criminal activity in Ontario’s gaming market. Anti-money laundering controls must be more than policies on paper. When risk indicators are triggered, operators are required to take active steps to help protect Ontario’s regulated gaming sector from being misused for criminal activity. The AGCO will continue to hold operators accountable when they do not meet these important public-protection obligations.”
AGCO issues $100,000 penalty to NorthStar Gaming
is republished from iGamingNews.com.
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