The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) occasionally has to hand down punishments to gaming operators who do not comply with the regulator’s standards. But you don’t hear stories too often like the incident that prompted their latest disciplinary action against a Great Canadian Entertainment casino.

The AGCO has fined Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto $350,000 after an electronic dance music (EDM) event at the resort on Sept. 27, 2024 ended in alleged assaults, overdoses, “acts of public indecency” and a spur-of-the-moment after-party taking place amid slot machines and table games on the casino floor.

“The event was marked by widespread intoxication, disorderly behaviour, and numerous criminal and medical incidents — both inside and outside the venue —including alleged assaults, drug overdoses, and acts of public indecency,” wrote the AGCO in a statement.

Paid duty officers were present to manage the event, but things got so out of hand that additional police and emergency services were required to manage the situation, the regulator said.

Anyone for a nightcap?

The AGCO did not name the artist, but German DJ Boris Brejcha was playing the venue that night.

The AGCO told of how, “in the midst of this high-risk environment,” the artist asked casino management to allow them to continue the festivities by hosting an after-party on the active casino gaming floor.

Casino management allegedly allowed the artist and more than 400 guests onto the gaming floor. The artist performed “amidst operational table games and gaming machines ” without any prior risk assessment or planning, said the regulator. Security personnel could not adequately control the casino floor, and witness reports suggest it all ended with an attendee climbing onto slot machines.

For the avoidance of doubt about the identity of the artist involved, Brejcha posted a video of himself playing a DJ set on the casino floor on Sept. 28, 2024 labelled “Afterparty casino Toronto” and captioned “First time playing an afterparty in a Casino” with the hashtags #casino #toronto #canada #borisbrejcha.

The Toronto resort has been fined $350,000 for multiple alleged violations of provincial gaming standards. Great Canadian allegedly failed to promptly report these incidents to the AGCO as required, and the AGCO said the penalties reflect critical failures in their operations, incident reporting, employee training and the management of disturbances.

“Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto’s lapses in this incident compromised the safety of patrons and the security and integrity of the gaming floor,” said AGCO CEO and Registrar Dr. Karin Schnarr.

“We respect the AGCO’s decision and fully acknowledge its role in setting and enforcing the standards that guide the gaming industry in Ontario,” a spokesperson for Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto told Canadian Gaming Business. “We take full responsibility for this incident. We have acted thoroughly to address it and have imposed multiple compliance safeguards to prevent a similar incident. Our entire organization remains firmly committed to the highest standards of compliance and accountability.

Third time’s the harm

While an early-morning EDM after-party among slot machines is a new one, as far as we know, this is the third time Great Canadian has been fined by the AGCO for a violation at the Toronto venue in under three months.

In mid-April, the Toronto casino was scolded for allegedly failing to detect cheating and dealer collusion.

The AGCO fined Ontario Gaming GTA Limited Partnership, a joint venture of Great Canadian Entertainment and Brookfield Business Partners in the Greater Toronto Area, $120,000 after the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Investigation and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) laid charges against five individuals after investigating allegations that two table games dealers were colluding with a group of casino patrons.

Dealers allegedly intentionally exposed face-down cards, inappropriately overdrew cards and issued overpayments on winning hands. The AGCO’s review found that Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto’s surveillance and supervisory staff failed to detect the scheme and did not follow proper table games audit procedures.

Then, in May, the AGCO fined Great Canadian Entertainment $151,000 for allowing minors to access the casino floor and participate in “gambling activities” in two separate incidents at the Toronto casino, as well as one at each of the Casino Ajax and Pickering Casino Resort venues.