The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has issued a $100,000 penalty to NorthStar Gaming after finding that the operator failed to properly identify and review a high-risk customer account under its anti-money laundering procedures. This is one of the largest fines that the AGCO has ever given an operator. It comes at a challenging time for NorthStar, as it’s in a transition period with a new CEO.
According to the AGCO, the player opened a NorthStar account in March 2024 and reached $25,000 in deposits that same month. Under NorthStar’s anti-money laundering policies, that activity should have made them classify this user as high-risk, where they would check on the source of the player’s funds.
They did not take those steps, so the player continued depositing for more than a year. The AGCO said the account received more than $55,000 in deposits in December 2024 alone, while total deposits reached about $189,395 by June 2025.
After that, the AGCO started looking into the account after the player was charged in connection with Project Outsource, a police investigation involving alleged extortion and violence in Ontario’s towing industry. NorthStar did not close the account until June 2025.
NorthStar Gaming can appeal the $100,000 penalty by requesting a hearing before Ontario’s Licence Appeal Tribunal within 15 days of receiving the order.
The $100,000 penalty against NorthStar Gaming is among the largest issued by the AGCO to an online gambling operator. Earlier this month, the AGCO fined Betty Gaming $120,000 after underage users were able to create accounts and place wagers on Betty.ca.
The Betty Gaming penalty ranked as the third-largest issued by the AGCO to an operator, behind a $350,000 fine against FanDuel in January 2026 and a $150,000 penalty against PointsBet in 2023. That puts NorthStar’s $100,000 fine just outside the top three.
The recent penalties also show the AGCO emphasizing enforcement within the province. Whether the issue involves age verification or anti-money laundering controls, the AGCO has continued to penalize operators that fail to meet provincial standards. This helps maintain Ontario as an industry leader in compliance.
The penalty comes less than two weeks after NorthStar Gaming named Corey Goodman as its permanent CEO. Goodman had served as interim CEO since December 2025. His main priority right now is to help the company navigate a period of financial challenges.
This becomes more difficult following the AGCO penalty. NorthStar is now working to strengthen its compliance operations while dealing with a transition period.
On top of that, NorthStar has to navigate a crowded Ontario market. The province has more than 40 regulated online gambling operators, with NorthStar competing against industry giants such as FanDuel, DraftKings, bet365, and BetMGM. To that end, such a hefty fine is an added blow to NorthStar.
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