Two reports on allegations of sexual harassment and assault on casino staff by patrons at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond have been released by David Eby, Attorney General.

The first report is a workplace review by the BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC) through Paladin Security. It investigated harassment allegations made by staff at the casino in 2017, and subsequent actions taken by BCLC and the service provider, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, which owns the casino.

The Paladin Security report confirmed that casino staff reported incidents of alleged assault by casino patrons. As soon as BCLC became aware of potential non-reporting by the service provider, it reported the incidents to the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch as required under the Gaming Control Act.  

The second report is the branch’s regulatory investigation into whether the service provider reported incidents to the branch as required under the act. This report found that all incidents that were required to be reported to police had been reported, and there was no evidence the casino's management or employees had suppressed reports.

The investigation also determined that a small number of incidents were not reported to the branch. The regulator investigated these unreported incidents and made eight recommendations aimed at protecting casino staff from potential harassment and strengthening internal procedures.

These recommendations include:

• ensuring service providers are aware of reportable offences;
• clarifying reporting requirements;
• additional training for frontline staff; and
• instituting player codes of conduct at all service-provider locations.

The branch is working with BCLC and service providers to address these recommendations.

Learn More:

For more information on the BCLC-Paladin Report, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Paladin_Final_Report.pdf

Details of the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch's report can be found online: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Paladin_Report_Response.pdf