Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto Hit With $120K Fine for Dealer Collusion Scheme

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) issued a $120,000 fine against the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto after the discovery of a scheme in which dealers were colluding with players to help them win. 

The fine comes more than a year after the Ontario Provincial Police Investigation and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) filed charges against five individuals involved in the cheating ring.

AGCO Cites Failure to Uncover Cheating in Issuing Fine

According to the charges, two table games dealers at the Great Canadian Casino were colluding with a group of players, allowing those patrons to take home nearly $20,000 in unearned wins over the course of less than a week.

An AGCO compliance review later found that the dealers were intentionally exposing cards while dealing their games, issuing overpayments on winning hands, and inappropriately overdrawing dealer cards, all with the goal of allowing players to win more than they should have.

While the individuals involved in the incident are facing charges from the IEB, the AGCO found that the casino itself carried culpability as well. 

For one, regulators say that the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto’s pit staff and surveillance team failed to detect the cheating ring, a key responsibility for licensed operators.

“Ontario’s registered casino operators have an obligation to ensure the integrity of game play in their casinos,” Dr. Karin Schnarr, registrar and CEO for the AGCO, said in a statement. “This includes a responsibility to detect and prevent collusion and cheating. The AGCO will continue to monitor and take all necessary steps to uphold the integrity of gaming in Ontario’s gaming sites.”

The review also found that casino employees failed to follow table games audit procedures, which are designed to ensure players and dealers are following the rules of play at all times.

Second Recent Cheating Scandal for Woodbine Casino

Like all casino operators, The Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto retains the right to appeal the fine to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), which operates independently of the AGCO as part of Tribunals Ontario.

The Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto is located at Woodbine Racetrack in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario. A racino was opened at the facility in 1999, with the offerings at what was then known as Casino Woodbine expanded to include table games in 2018. An expansion effort led to the rebranding of the casino as the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto in 2023.

The collusion allegations mark the second time in recent history that the casino has been part of a cheating scandal. In September 2023, the AGCO fined the facility – then temporary known as Grandstand Casino – $80,000 after an electronic craps dealer colluded to help players cheat. 

The AGCO found that the casino had failed to take the dealer off the game despite procedural violations, hadn’t acted on information that showed unusual losses from electronic craps games over a six-month period, and that supervisors were frequently absent from the game. 

(Image: courtesy of Great Canadian)