Quebec land-based casinos will no longer allow criminals to enter or hold a membership! Will this drive them to online casinos? (Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash)
Canada has had a lingering shadow of crime cast over it for the past 10 years. Previously, money laundering operations on an international scale have been using Canada as the go-to place to wash their money.
This scandal has been wreaking havoc amongst politics, with several up-ladder job losses and high-profile figures being publicly and permanently shamed. To make matters worse, crime bosses have ordered several murders with a spree of drive-by shooting attempts. Enough is enough for the majority of the country, and no one more so than Quebec. Quebec is planning on some radical changes to the casino scene with any high-risk criminals being banished completely.
Casino Doors Being Shut to Criminals
As mentioned before, Quebec is looking to put a stop to this activity once and for all. In November 2020, they had an audit that was conducted independently to try to fish out any suspicious behaviour. The auditors first targeted Casino de Montreal, taking a deep look into account activity, both over the last few years and currently. Thankfully, it has been reported that there was nothing to report from this audit, however, the work that needs to be done now is to prevent any kind of reoccurrence in the future.
There are still other areas that need to change their behaviours in order for Quebec, and Canada to have a bright future. Public image has taken a huge hit from previous activities and so any kind of relapse could have devastating results for the industry. Almost 40 areas still need improving, and that has to be the target moving forward. It could only take one or two acts of criminal activity to tear down the image of the whole country.
One of the solutions to avoiding these problems would be the complete banishment of anybody who is considered a likely candidate to partake in such illegal activities. If Quebec could close the door on them, then it wouldn’t be possible for cash to get washed through the tables. It has been recommended that any such person who fits this profile, post-vetting, will have their memberships taken away, with the possibility of them never being returned.
Loto-Quebec (who are responsible for the oversight of state gambling establishments) will have more power to conduct adequate checks on players, along with gaining knowledge on how they are funding their play. It is not yet certain when these changes will come into play, however, a few dates have been suggested and it is thought that it will be sometime in the near future.
Time to Clean Up for Canada
The entire of Canada has been swept by regulators and law enforcement to wipe away any criminal activity with the gaming scene. But, still, there seems to be an enormous amount of money getting through the system and it is said that some establishments are willingly aiding the movement of dirty money. It appears that organised crime from the US, China and Canada are attempting to corrupt the system and it seems like in some areas it is working.
Loto-Quebec is working together with the auditors and support the findings of their investigation, but they insist that changes still need to be made to safeguard the industry and also ensuring the sustainability of individual operators. Organised crime is not a sustainable business, it is a temporary money-making scheme, and the regulators want to see establishments build and prosper for years to come!
What about Canadian online casinos? A bank account is needed in most cases to fund online casinos which are mostly based in Europe. There is also Paysafecard and other digital pre paid cards that could be a route for criminals to use casino to wash their money. However, land-based casinos in Canada are cash based while online casinos accepting Canadian players will need to be looked into!
