British Columbia Lottery Commission Appeals FINTRAC Decision to Federal Court
Posted on: August 28, 2025, 01:03h.
Last updated on: August 28, 2025, 01:40h.
- The British Columbia Lottery Commission (BCLS) was fined more than $1 million after an AML investigation
- Provincial corporation says it will appeal the decision
- BCLC says it was “ambushed” by FINTRAC’s notice of violation
The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) announced it’s appealing to the Federal Court a decision by a federal financial watchdog that it’s fining BCLC more than $1 million for anti-money laundering legislation violations.
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) issued a Notice of Violation to BCLC on March 20, 2025, following an investigation into money laundering and terrorist financing allegations, and alleged administrative deficiencies pertaining to the anti-money laundering legislation.
The lottery corporation was penalized for three alleged violations of the Proceeds of Crime (money laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act.
BCLC said in a statement that the findings don’t include allegations of any criminal offense.
BCLC Appeal
“Upon receipt of the NOV, BCLC completed a thorough review of FINTRAC’s findings and provided FINTRAC with information counter to its conclusions; however, the Director and Chief Executive Officer for FINTRAC upheld the decision,” the BCLC statement read.
According to Canadian Press reporting, the appeal says FINTRAC focused on one unnamed casino patron, identified as the highest volume slot machine player in BCLC’s rewards program, flagged for “their frequent use of $100 bills.”
According to Canadian Press, in its appeal, BCLC said: “The amount gambled, in and of itself, is not a relevant factor in Fintrac’s money laundering and terrorist financing indicator. The director’s reasoning reflects a moral or value-based judgment rather than an objective application of the regulatory framework.”
History of AML in BC
In its statement, BCLC said it “takes its responsibilities under Canadian anti-money laundering legislation very seriously. It is confident in its position that it has fully complied with all its legal and regulatory obligations.”
BCLC claims it wasn’t properly notified it was under investigation, and that it was “ambushed” by the FINTRAC NOV without having an opportunity to correct FINTRAC’s “misunderstandings and misapprehensions” about the casino.
An industry source speaking to Casino.org said, “While we don’t know the details of this specific case between FINTRAC and the BCLC, this lottery corporation has a history of noncompliance with AML rules. It’s tough to play the victim card when the BCLC is directly responsible for the largest money laundering scandal in Canadian history, as detailed in the Peter German Report and Cullen Commission Inquiry.
“Perhaps the BCLC should focus on getting its own house in order rather than sponsoring lawsuits trying to dictate how other provinces run their gaming businesses.”
German Reports
The Peter German Reports in 2018 and 2019 highlighted systemic failures in BC’s gaming industry around money-laundering activities, including in terms of how BCLC casinos were being operated and how money laundering was being combatted.
The Cullen Commission Inquiry in 2022 further investigated money laundering in BC, which found that BCLC and other regulatory agencies failed to act “effectively” on repeated warnings about suspicious cash transactions in BC casinos
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