Atlantic Lottery Corporation Inc. (Atlantic Lottery) has declared that it will accept a penalty of $212,025 imposed by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) on May 29, due to administrative infractions related to suspicious transaction reporting and compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.

On July 9, FINTRAC disclosed that it had issued the fine, citing violations of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act by the gaming operator.

FINTRAC’s Penalty Announcement

FINTRAC reported several administrative infractions committed by Atlantic Lottery, which include:

• Failure to file a suspicious transaction report when there were reasonable grounds to believe that a transaction or its attempt was related to money laundering or terrorist financing.
• A lack of up-to-date and approved written compliance policies and procedures as required by a senior officer.
• Neglecting to evaluate and document potential risks associated with money laundering or terrorist financing, failing to consider the stipulated factors.

In a statement issued on July 10, Atlantic Lottery confirmed that it has paid the imposed penalty. The corporation emphasized that FINTRAC’s findings did not suggest any money laundering, terrorist financing, or criminal behavior by Atlantic Lottery or its players.

No Appeal from Atlantic Lottery

“While Atlantic Lottery is confident that its compliance program meets or surpasses legal requirements, we believe that it is not in the best interests of Atlantic Canadians to allocate funds to contest this penalty in court,” the statement indicated.

Atlantic Lottery is a government-owned entity responsible for lottery and gaming operations across the four Atlantic provinces of Canada: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

FINTRAC’s Enforcement Trends

The corporation manages various lottery games, video lottery terminals, online gaming, and sports betting throughout Atlantic Canada, including ownership of the Red Shores gaming and entertainment facility in Prince Edward Island.

FINTRAC acts as Canada’s financial intelligence body, entrusted with identifying, preventing, and combating money laundering and terrorist financing while gathering, analyzing, and disseminating financial intelligence to law enforcement and national security organizations.

In the 2025-26 period, FINTRAC issued 35 violation notices for non-compliance across different sectors, marking the highest number of notices in a single year, amounting to a total of $247 million, which includes all business areas, not just gaming.