FINTRAC Fines New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Gaming Corporations Over AML Failures

^{Canada's financial intelligence unit fined two provincial gaming corporations more than $631,000 combined for anti-money-laundering violations.}

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, known as FINTRAC, imposed penalties on the New Brunswick Lotteries and Gaming Corporation and the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation this month.

FINTRAC fined the New Brunswick corporation $399,712.50 on July 24 for failing to submit suspicious transaction reports when it had reasonable grounds to suspect a transaction was tied to money laundering or terrorist financing.

The Nova Scotia corporation was fined $231,826 on July 23, a day earlier, for three separate violations.

FINTRAC said Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation failed to submit required suspicious transaction reports, failed to keep its compliance policies up to date and approved by a senior officer, and failed to properly assess and document its money-laundering risk.

Both corporations have paid their penalties in full, and FINTRAC has closed both cases.

Why Casinos Face These Rules

Land-based and online casinos in Canada are among several business sectors that Canada's Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act requires to identify clients, keep records, maintain a compliance regime and report large or suspicious transactions to FINTRAC.

Suspicious transaction reports are the reporting requirement FINTRAC leans on most for generating financial intelligence used by police and national security agencies.

"Canada's Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Regime is in place to protect the safety of Canadians, the security of Canadian businesses and the integrity of Canada's financial system."

Stéphane Sirard, FINTRAC's acting director and chief executive officer, said the obligations under the act deter criminals and terrorists from operating in the legitimate economy and ensure the centre gets the reporting it needs to support law enforcement investigations.

Part of a Record Year for Enforcement

FINTRAC issued 35 notices of violation in the 2025-26 fiscal year, the most in the centre's history, totalling more than $247 million.

The regulator has now imposed more than 180 penalties across Canadian business sectors since it gained the legal authority to do so in 2008.

FINTRAC also reported generating 7,214 financial intelligence disclosure packages from 3,007 unique disclosures last year, the largest volume the centre has produced in a single year.

That intelligence identified 10,650 subjects of interest and contributed to 348 major investigations, along with hundreds of smaller municipal, provincial and federal cases.

What It Means for Canada's Casino Sector

Both New Brunswick Lotteries and Gaming Corporation and Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation run their provinces' regulated online and land-based casino operations, giving both penalties direct relevance to how Canada's regulated casino operators handle their compliance obligations.

Provincial gaming corporations across the country now operate under the same federal anti-money-laundering framework, regardless of which province licenses them.

FINTRAC has not said whether either corporation self-reported the compliance gaps that led to these penalties.

Both cases are closed, but FINTRAC's own enforcement numbers suggest more penalties across the gaming sector are likely as the regulator keeps issuing a record volume of violation notices.