The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is looking to amp up its anti-money laundering capabilities, and it’s hoping experts in the industry can help.
OLG has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for an AML solutions program that it intends to use to support compliance, risk management and regulatory reporting across its online and mobile sports betting, casino and lottery gaming, as well as its province-wide land-based gaming.
First reported by Gaming News Canada, the RFI outlines several key areas of focus that it is seeking information on, including things such as player identification, user AML risk assessments, transaction monitoring and alert generation, case and player profile management systems and user account management.
OLG Director of Media Relations Tony Bitonti told Canadian Gaming Business that, in essence, the RFI’s purpose is to ask vendors in the market what they can offer to help the governmental operator meet its needs.
OLG previously put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) in December 2022, looking to develop a new consolidated AML software system, but decided to go a different route after evaluating options and ultimately canceled the procurement process. Instead, it opened the RFI for contributions on Sept. 18 and could ultimately issue RFPs if it decides to pursue certain avenues after responses to the RFI.
“The new approach presented a better fit for OLG’s needs and strategy,” Bitonti said. “OLG maintains robust IT systems to support its AML program and continuously enhances its systems, taking advantage of new technologies and strategies that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its AML program.”
Off the beaten FINTRAC
Also specified in the RFI as an area that OLG wants help with is Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) reporting, an issue that has been on the mind of the Canadian gaming industry for some time.
Some stakeholders have spoken of burdensome logistical issues in meeting FINTRAC’s reporting requirements, particularly as Ontario’s iGaming market has scaled up since opening in April 2022. Authorized operators in Ontario must file suspicious transaction reports manually and upload them one at a time on a per-incident basis via the FINTRAC portal, although they do have the option to use their own in-house automation technology to speed up the process.
It was revealed earlier this year that Ontario’s licensed commercial online gaming operators couldn’t use FINTRAC’s web portal to file suspicious transaction reports for up to a year between March 2024 and March 2025 following a hacking incident.
iGaming Ontario (iGO), which manages OLG’s licensed iGaming competitors in the province, is building its own improved and automated system for FINTRAC filing, the agency confirmed to Canadian Gaming Business in May.
“Our aim is that this system will improve efficiency and speed while also remaining secure and reducing the administrative burden on operators,” iGO spokesperson Josh Elliott said at the time. “When complete, this system will allow iGaming Ontario to file reports to FINTRAC via secure data feed, much as other high-volume entities do.”
OLG’s attempts to ensure its AML capabilities and FINTRAC reporting are up to scratch come as the financial watchdog has fined numerous gaming agencies for alleged compliance or reporting violations in recent weeks, including OLG’s British Columbian counterpart BCLC and Saskatchewan First Nations operator SIGA.
