Bonnie Lysyk, Auditor General of Ontario, has criticized the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation in her 2022 Annual Report.
Audit found that casinos are also failing to verify source of funds for large transactions
In the report released to the public yesterday, Lysyk highlighted several key issues that the Auditor’s Office discovered in the government-owned gambling operator’s operations. These relate to financial concerns and insufficient responsible gambling processes.
The yearly audit found that despite the fact that the OLG tracked customer satisfaction and their mental wellbeing, the company failed in its responsibilities is several key areas.
“[The OLG] does not measure or report on its progress on responsible gambling, job growth, capital investments, integrity of gaming and anti-money laundering activities.”
According to the report, not enough of the OLG’s users are using responsible gambling tools while those that do make use of them to self exclude can still access privately owned iGaming websites.
Lysyk also noted that neither the OLG nor the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) are monitoring slot machines to ensure that they are connected to OLG’s central monitoring system. This means that there is no data to verify that slot machines actually pay out 85% in winnings over the life of each machine, as per AGCO standards.
In relation to the privatization of casinos and their revenues the report stated:
Following the privatization of casinos, in 2019/20 the net profit to the Province from casino gaming revenue decreased by $54 million from what it received before privatization. As well, OLG renegotiated significantly reduced revenue commitments from casino operators despite signed contracts already in place.
The audit also found that on two separate occasions, auditors were able to enter a casino and effectively launder large amounts of cash with no mandatory checks performed to verify their identity or the source of funds. This is despite the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada’s warning to implement tighter verification checks in relation to large transactions in June 2021.
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.