Five people including one casino dealer have been arrested and charged with 19 offences after allegedly working together to defraud Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto.

The Ontario Provincial Police’s Investigation and Enforcement Bureau (IEB), which is a fully integrated bureau within the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), were alerted to potential fraud on March 18.

An investigation found that a table games dealer was “in collusion” with casino patrons but has not disclosed the nature of the alleged fraud or how much money was potentially lost.

Police have laid charges including cheat at play, theft under $5,000, fraud over $5,000 and criminal breach of trust against five people, one from Brampton, Ont. and four from the Etobicoke area of Toronto.

All of the accused have been released from custody and are scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto at later dates.

The OPP IEB comprises the Investigations Branch and the Intelligence and Investigative Support Branch and works with AGCO operations to streamline, standardize and improve investigative responses. The mandate of the branches is to provide investigative expertise and share information with external law enforcement and regulatory and industry stakeholder agencies to ensure integrity and public safety within AGCO-regulated industries like gaming.

“We extend our appreciation to the OPP for their prompt arrest of the accused and we will continue to support their investigation and prosecution,” Chuck Keeling, Great Canadian Entertainment‘s EVP of Stakeholder Engagement, Community and Social Responsibility, told Canadian Gaming Business in an email.

“Maintaining the integrity of our games is paramount in providing a safe and fun environment for all our guests. Rigorous measures are in place to detect and thwart any instance of collusion or fraudulent activity in our casinos and we remain vigilant in ensuring these measures are upheld to preserve the trust and safety of our guests.”

Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto

Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto opened last June adjacent to the Woodbine Racetrack in Etobicoke, close to Toronto Pearson International Airport and Humber College.

The $1 billion venue, which came equipped with 4,800 slot machines and 145 table games on its new gaming floor, subsequently added a large poker room later last summer to join Great Blue Heron Casino in Scugog, Ont. as a Great Canadian destination offering an area dedicated to poker.

Great Canadian runs more than two dozen entertainment locations throughout Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. It recently struck a partnership with gaming services provider Everi to implement its Everi Compliance Anti-Money Laundering toolkit at its Casino New Brunswick and Casino Nova Scotia properties in the Atlantic Provinces.