Ontario Casinos See Increase in Suspicious Cash Transactions

TORONTO – As casinos in British Columbia sought out to crack down on suspicious and questionable cash transactions, it appears that those cash transactions have moved east, targeting Ontario casinos. It’s been found that in 2018, the total number of suspicious transactions more than doubled in Ontario casinos.

In 2018, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) recorded 2,266 suspicious transactions which was 140% higher than the previous year’s total of just 945 suspicious transactions. These figures were exclusively obtained by Global News.

The increase in suspicious activities comes after B.C. casinos have actively sought to decrease the number of suspicious transactions. According to B.C. Attorney General, David Eby, the value of these suspicious transactions drastically decreased from a high of $20 million per month in 2015 to $200,000 per month in 2018.

Experts believe that this crackdown has forced criminal networks seek out different areas in Canada to park their illegal funds and many believe they have set their sights on Ontario.

It remains to be seen how much longer this upward trend of increasing suspicious transactions continues in Ontario casinos.