The Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) is the latest Canadian gaming entity to be fined by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) for alleged violations related to suspicious transaction reporting.
FINTRAC announced on July 9 that it hit the Atlantic Lottery with an administrative monetary penalty of $212,025 on May 29 after a compliance examination determined that the government gaming operator violated the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) and associated regulations.
The federal financial intelligence unit and anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing watchdog said that ALC committed three violations:
- Failure to submit a suspicious transaction report where there were reasonable grounds to suspect links to money laundering or terrorist activity
- Failure to keep written compliance policies and procedures up to date
- Failure to assess and document the risk of financial crimes
FINTRAC said that the Atlantic Lottery paid the fine in full and the case is closed.
Atlantic Lottery won’t waste money by appealing
Canadian Gaming Business reached out to ALC for comment and was directed to a public statement in which the Atlantic Lottery stressed that FINTRAC’s findings do not include any allegations of money laundering, terrorist financing, criminal activity or willful misconduct by the lottery or its players.
ALC also said that it has full confidence that its compliance program “meets or exceeds its obligations”.
However, although it may not agree with FINTRAC’s punishment, the Atlantic Lottery will not be appealing the decision because it believes court proceedings would be a waste of money.
“It is not in the best interest of Atlantic Canadians to divert funds that would otherwise be returned to provincial shareholders by disputing this penalty through a legal appeal,” read the statement. “As such, Atlantic Lottery has paid the administrative penalty outlined by FINTRAC, concluding the examination.”
Other Canadian gaming entities fight back
While the Atlantic Lottery accepted the fine and paid the penalty, other Canadian gaming entities — including a fellow governmental lottery corporation — have indeed contested the agency’s claims of wrongdoing in court.
FINTRAC said it issued 35 notices of violation of non-compliance to businesses in 2025-26, the most ever, handing out a total of $247m in fines. That spans its enforcement across all industries, not only gaming.
It has, though, fined several gambling-related organizations in the last 12 months, including:
- British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC)
- Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) Casino
- Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA)
- Northern Isga Foundation, the licensed charity of Eagle River Casino and Travel Plaza in Alberta
BCLC and First Nations operator SIGA were each fined more than $1m for alleged violations including a supposed failure to report suspicious transactions. The two operators, as well as the charitable CNE Casino, appealed against their respective punishments in federal court.
BCLC claimed in its appeal that it was “ambushed” by FINTRAC in a 2024 examination and alleged that the agency “erred” on several counts and “misconstrued” numerous findings in its investigation and decision. Meanwhile, SIGA disputed FINTRAC’s findings and argued that then-FINTRAC Director Sarah Paquet ignored and overruled some of the findings of her own agency’s investigation.
The appeals from CNE Casino, BCLC, and SIGA all remain pending in federal court.
