You're using an outdated browser. This website will not display correctly and some features will not work.
Learn more about the browsers we support for a faster and safer online experience.

Gaming Control Act, 1992
Loi de 1992 sur la réglementation des jeux

ONTARIO REGULATION 197/95

GENERAL — GAMES OF CHANCE HELD UNDER A LICENCE

Historical version for the period July 1, 2011 to May 13, 2012.

Last amendment: O. Reg. 147/11.

This Regulation is made in English only.

Application

1. This Regulation applies to every registered gaming services supplier within the meaning of Ontario Regulation 68/94 who operates lottery schemes that are,

(a) conducted and managed by one or more charitable or religious organizations pursuant to a licence issued, under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, by the Registrar or by a First Nation licensing authority; and

(b) played on 50 or more days in a year at the same gaming premises. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 1; O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 1.

Surveillance

2. (1) The supplier shall not begin operations at the gaming premises until the Registrar is satisfied that the surveillance of the operations will comply with this Regulation. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 2 (1); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 1.

(2) The supplier shall submit a written surveillance plan, including diagrams, where appropriate, to the Registrar for approval and the plan shall include,

(a) a floor plan of the gaming premises, showing the placement of all surveillance equipment in relation to the areas to be viewed;

(b) a description of the surveillance equipment and its capabilities;

(c) a description of the supplier’s policies and procedures with respect to surveillance;

(d) a description of the supplier’s plan for carrying out surveillance if the surveillance equipment in use fails; and

(e) a description of the supplier’s policies and procedures respecting access to the surveillance room mentioned in clause (3) (a). O. Reg. 197/95, s. 2 (2); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 1.

(3) The Registrar shall not approve a surveillance plan unless,

(a) it designates at least one room in the gaming premises to be used exclusively for surveillance of operations;

(b) the interior of the surveillance room mentioned in clause (a) is not visible to the public; and

(c) the surveillance equipment in the gaming premises includes a closed-circuit television system that complies with subsection (4). O. Reg. 197/95, s. 2 (3); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 1.

(4) The closed-circuit television system in the gaming premises shall include,

(a) light sensitive cameras with pan, zoom and tilt capabilities that can be placed behind a dome or one-way mirror that conceals the cameras from view and permits clear views, from various vantage points, of,

(i) the gaming conducted at each gaming table and the activities in the pits, including all gaming table surfaces, so that the wagers, chips, cash and card values and the outcomes of each game are capable of being observed,

(ii) all drop boxes, tip boxes and the numbers affixed to the boxes and to each gaming table,

(iii) the movement of cash, chips, tokens, drop boxes, drop buckets and tip boxes,

(iv) all persons on the gaming floor,

(v) all entrance and exit doors to the gaming premises,

(vi) the soft and hard count rooms and all activities occurring in those rooms, and

(vii) the cashier’s cage and all transactions conducted in it and in front of it, so as to permit identification of the currency, chips, tokens, fill and credit slips and other paperwork involved in the transactions;

(b) video monitors and video recorders, with time and date insertion capabilities, that tape what is being viewed by cameras in the system; and

(c) video printers with the capability to generate instantaneously upon command a clear, still copy of the image depicted on the videotape recording.

(5) The supplier shall not put an approved surveillance plan into effect except in accordance with the approval. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 2 (4, 5).

(6) The supplier shall not alter any material component of the surveillance plan without the prior written approval of the Registrar. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 2 (6); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 1.

3. The supplier shall ensure that gaming assistants employed in surveillance at the gaming premises have no other gaming-related duties. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 3.

4. (1) The supplier shall ensure that,

(a) the closed-circuit television system in the gaming premises, including the videotape recording, is operated at all times during the hours of operation of the gaming premises; and

(b) sufficient lighting is present in all areas of the gaming premises to permit clear video reproductions.

(2) The supplier shall retain the master tape of all videotape recordings in a secure area for at least seven days after they are made. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 4 (1, 2).

(3) The supplier shall ensure that videotape recordings of activities that are or appear to be illegal are not destroyed without the Registrar’s written approval. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 4 (3); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 2.

5. (1) The supplier shall ensure that the surveillance room is used exclusively for surveillance of activities in the gaming premises. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 5 (1).

(2) The supplier shall maintain a log, which shall be available for inspection by the Registrar at any time, of all surveillance activities at the gaming premises. O. Reg. 59/98, s. 2; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 3.

(3) The log shall include,

(a) the names of all persons who enter and leave the surveillance room;

(b) a summary of all activities monitored by persons engaged in surveillance at the gaming premises that are or appear to be illegal, including the date and time of the surveillance and the names of persons monitoring the activities;

(c) the date and time at which the tapes in the videotape recorders are changed and names of the persons changing the tapes; and

(d) a record of all malfunctions in surveillance equipment. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 5 (3).

Security

6. (1) The supplier shall establish a security department that is independent from the surveillance department.

(2) The responsibilities of the security department include,

(a) providing for the security of gaming equipment;

(b) providing security for the cashier’s cages and count rooms and restricting entry to them to authorized persons only;

(c) limiting the distribution of keys to those parts of the gaming premises to which access is restricted to authorized persons;

(d) monitoring and accompanying the movement of money and money equivalents;

(e) monitoring for cheating and thefts;

(f) controlling crowds as necessary;

(g) evacuating the gaming premises in an emergency;

(h) reporting to the supplier all incidents threatening security at the gaming premises;

(i) preparing and maintaining records of all incidents reported to the supplier under clause (h); and

(j) maintaining a daily log of all security activities. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 6.

Rules of Play

7. The rules of play for a lottery scheme described in section 1 shall be the same as the rules of play approved by the board of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for games of chance conducted and managed by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. O. Reg. 210/00, s. 2.

Records

8. The supplier shall maintain, for a period of at least five years, the following records relating to the lottery schemes operated by the supplier:

1. Records of all written and unwritten contracts of purchase or sale of gaming equipment or services made by the supplier indicating,

i. the name and address of the person with whom the supplier contracted,

ii. a description of the equipment or services, and

iii. the amount of payments made under the contract.

2. Daily computations of the drop and win or loss for each game offered at the gaming premises.

3. Banking records of all accounts used by the supplier that clearly identify all transactions made in connection with the operation of the lottery schemes conducted from the gaming premises. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 8.

9. (1) The supplier shall not redeem $10,000 or more worth of chips for cash from one person in a transaction, accept $10,000 or more in cash as a wager from one person at a gaming activity at which chips are not customarily used for wagering or sell in any transaction $10,000 or more worth of chips to a person unless the supplier makes a record of,

(a) the person’s name and permanent address after verifying them by examining a valid driver’s licence, passport or similar piece of identification bearing the person’s photograph;

(b) the document used to verify the person’s name and permanent address and the number of the document;

(c) the date and amount of the transaction;

(d) the name, position title and signature of the person who completes the transaction and records the information on behalf of the supplier.

(2) The information recorded shall be forwarded daily to the supplier’s accounting department and shall be kept for five years.

(3) The supplier shall log and aggregate all cash transactions of $2,500 or more occurring within a 24-hour period between the supplier and one person, or another person who the supplier knows or has reason to believe is the person’s agent, at the cage, gaming table or pit.

(4) The supplier shall log and aggregate all cash transactions under $2,500 occurring within a 24-hour period between the supplier and one person, or another person who the supplier knows or has reason to believe is the person’s agent, at the cage, gaming table or pit if any officer or employee of the supplier has reason to believe that the transaction is one of a series of transactions that together may amount to $10,000 or more in a 24-hour period.

(5) When transactions that are logged and aggregated under subsections (3) and (4) amount to $10,000 or more, the identification and record-keeping requirements set out in subsection (1) apply. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 9.

Internal Control System

10. (1) The supplier shall implement an internal control system that complies with the internal control policies issued by the Registrar and provides reasonable assurance that,

(a) the financial records that the supplier is required to maintain under this Regulation are accurate, reliable and prepared on a timely basis;

(b) the potential for error and fraud is minimized;

(c) the duties and responsibilities of gaming assistants at the gaming premises are appropriately segregated;

(d) money and money equivalents are safeguarded; and

(e) efficient operations are promoted. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 10 (1); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 4.

(2) At the end of the first year of operation of the gaming premises, the supplier shall have the internal control system reviewed by an independent licensed public accountant at the supplier’s own expense to ensure that the system complies with subsection (1). O. Reg. 197/95, s. 10 (2).

(3) The supplier shall submit the accountant’s report to the Registrar within three months of the end of the first year of operation of the gaming premises. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 10 (3); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 4.

(4) In all subsequent years after the first year of operation of the gaming premises, the supplier shall include in its annual financial statements a statement whether the internal control system complies with subsection (1). O. Reg. 197/95, s. 10 (4).

(5) The supplier shall not implement any material changes to the internal control system without advising the Registrar in writing of the changes. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 10 (5); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 4.

Compliance Committee

11. (1) The supplier shall establish a committee that is responsible for ensuring that the supplier complies with this Regulation. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 11 (1).

(2) The committee shall consist of a minimum of five members, two of whom shall be persons who,

(a) are not interested persons in the supplier within the meaning of section 8 of the Act;

(b) do not have a contract with the supplier; and

(c) are not employees of the supplier. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 11 (2).

(3) At least one member of the committee shall be a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and at least one member of the committee shall be a public accountant licensed in Ontario. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 11 (3).

(4) The committee shall meet once a month during the first year of operation of the gaming premises and after that once every three months. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 11 (4).

(5) The supplier shall provide the Registrar with the minutes of all meetings of the compliance committee. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 11 (5); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 4.

Reports

12. (1) The supplier shall submit to the Registrar, within three months of the supplier’s fiscal year end, corporate and consolidated financial statements, to which schedules are appended setting out all related party transactions, on its operations. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 12 (1); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 4.

(2) The supplier shall submit to the Registrar a copy of all annual and quarterly filings that it makes with a securities commission in any jurisdiction. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 12 (2); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 4.

(3) The supplier shall provide such other information or material required by the Registrar within the time period required. O. Reg. 197/95, s. 12 (3); O. Reg. 59/98, s. 1; O. Reg. 147/11, s. 4.