What happened
The AGCO reviewed 40 instances of revoked or unapproved bill-validator software installed at four casino sites from February 20 to March 15, 2025. The software operated in live casino environments before the required testing, monitoring and approval.
A bill validator is a gaming-machine component that accepts cash and verifies its authenticity and value. Bill validators also support anti-money-laundering controls, so their software affects systems used to process cash and wagers.
Ontario’s Standards for Gaming require gaming equipment and software to be tested and approved before casino deployment. Casino operators must review, test and authorize system changes before implementation. The AGCO says unapproved software can weaken controls intended to detect unlawful conduct and protect the integrity of regulated gaming.
Great Canadian Entertainment may appeal the Registrar’s action to the Licence Appeal Tribunal within 15 days. The tribunal is part of Tribunals Ontario and operates independently of the AGCO.
How to check it yourself
Read the AGCO announcement to verify the operator’s name, the total penalty, the software involved and the period reviewed. The announcement identifies the installations as revoked or unapproved bill-validator software and explains the appeal route.
Then consult Ontario’s Standards for Gaming for the requirement that casino equipment and software receive testing and approval before use. The AGCO material also identifies the Licence Appeal Tribunal as the body that hears an appeal from an Order of Monetary Penalty.
What the RTP Index newsroom thinks
The penalty is warranted on the facts set out by the AGCO. Approval for cash-handling gaming software is a control that must be completed before live use, not paperwork that can follow a system change.
The case matters because bill validators sit where cash enters electronic gaming machines. An operator that puts unapproved software into that process creates a preventable gap in controls designed to support lawful casino operations. The appeal process should decide any challenge, but it does not make the alleged compliance failure minor.
