Ontario’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission has fined Great Canadian Entertainment $120,000 after finding unauthorized bill validator software at four casino properties. The regulator reviewed 40 instances of revoked or unapproved software installed between Feb. 20 and March 15, 2025.
According to a June 29 AGCO release, bill validators verify the authenticity and value of cash inserted into gaming machines. The commission’s standards require gaming equipment and software to be tested and approved before deployment, and operators are responsible for ensuring any changes are reviewed, tested and authorized before implementation.
The AGCO guidance also says a bill validator must authenticate bills at the proper security level, reject counterfeits while maintaining a high acceptance rate of good bills, and run a self-test each time it powers up. If that test fails, the device must disable itself and send a signal to the host game until the error is cleared.
The commission said using unapproved software in a live casino environment is a serious compliance failure. Dr. Karin Schnarr, the AGCO’s registrar and chief executive, said unauthorized software bypasses critical safeguards meant to uphold gaming integrity and public confidence.
Great Canadian said it respects the AGCO’s decision and its role in enforcing industry standards. According to the company, it added operational and compliance safeguards in response to the penalty.
The AGCO did not identify the four casinos in its release. A casino operator served with an order of monetary penalty has 15 days to appeal to the Licence Appeal Tribunal.
Separately, The Star reported that three GTA casinos affiliated with Great Canadian were fined $150,000 in May 2025 for failing to prevent minors from gambling.
