Large Cash Transaction Report for Casinos: FINTRAC LCTR

Under the large cash transaction report casino rules, a Canadian casino must file an LCTR with FINTRAC when it receives $10,000 or more in cash in one transaction, or in several cash amounts reaching $10,000 within 24 consecutive hours that it knows share the same conductor, third party or beneficiary. The report is due within 15 calendar days.

For a casino, that usually means cash arriving at the cage: chip purchases, front-money deposits and other buy-ins paid in bank notes. This guide explains the LCTR from that cash-in side, using FINTRAC's large cash transaction guidance and its casino record-keeping guidance as accessed on 9 November 2026. It is not legal advice; confirm your obligations with FINTRAC and counsel.

Large cash transaction reports at casinos: the short answer

The LCTR is one of the threshold reports created under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA). FINTRAC states that all reporting entities must comply with LCTR requirements. For an LCTR casino workflow, the core rules are:

• Trigger: receiving $10,000 or more in cash in a single transaction.
• Aggregation: the 24-hour rule combines smaller cash amounts received within a consecutive 24-hour period when you know they share the same conductor, third party or beneficiary.
• Deadline: 15 calendar days after the day the cash is received.
• Exception: cash received from a financial entity or a public body, or from a person acting on their behalf.
• Channel: electronic filing through the FINTRAC Web Reporting System (FWR) or the FINTRAC API; paper only without the technical capability.
• Copy: keep a copy of each report for at least five years.

The LCTR covers money coming in. Money paid out is reported on a different form, and FINTRAC's casino disbursement guidance lists "cash received by the casino" as something that is not reported as a disbursement but under large cash transaction reporting instead.

What counts as cash, and what does not

Canadian and foreign bank notes and coins

FINTRAC defines cash as Canadian coins and Bank of Canada notes intended for circulation in Canada, plus coins and bank notes of other countries. A US-dollar buy-in at the cage is therefore cash for LCTR purposes, just like Canadian notes.

Cheques, money orders and crypto are excluded

Cheques, money orders and similar negotiable instruments are not cash. Neither is virtual currency. A client who funds play with a bank draft does not trigger an LCTR, although the transaction may still create other records and, if something is wrong, a suspicious transaction report. Virtual currency received by a casino has its own threshold report; see our explainer on large virtual currency transaction report rules for that side.

Converting foreign cash

To decide whether foreign cash reaches $10,000, convert it at the Bank of Canada exchange rate in effect at the time of the transaction. If the Bank of Canada does not publish a rate for that currency, use the exchange rate your casino uses in the normal course of business, as documented in your compliance policies. Every cage foreign-exchange transaction also needs a foreign currency exchange ticket, so the rate is normally already captured.

Where cash enters a casino

Chip, plaque and token purchases

FINTRAC's LCTR form includes a disposition called "Purchase of casino product", which covers chips, plaques and tokens. That is the most common LCTR casino scenario: a client hands over $10,000 or more in notes at the cage or a table and receives chips. The person physically handing over the cash is the conductor, and the form records who that person is and how the cash was used.

Front-money and account deposits

Cash deposited into a client's front money account is also cash received. Under FINTRAC's disbursement guidance, the deposit itself is not a casino disbursement, which confirms that the reporting question for a cash deposit is the LCTR, not the CDR. When the client later withdraws front money, that withdrawal is a separate event on the payout side.

Why online operators rarely face LCTRs

Online casino accounts are normally funded by card payments, bank transfers, e-wallets or virtual currency. None of these is cash under FINTRAC's definition, so a purely online cashier will rarely receive anything that could trigger an LCTR. Online deposits still raise other questions, such as virtual currency reporting, electronic funds transfer records and suspicious transaction reporting. Whether a given online operator is a reporting entity at all depends on its status under the PCMLTFA; check FINTRAC guidance rather than assuming.

The 24-hour rule for cash

Same conductor, third party or beneficiary

Under the 24-hour rule, two or more cash amounts that total $10,000 or more within a consecutive 24-hour period must be reported together when you know they were received from the same conductor, on behalf of the same third party, or for the same beneficiary. The test is knowledge, so what your systems could link matters. Three $4,000 chip purchases by one player at three different tables in one evening add up to $12,000 and, if your systems link them to that player, they are reportable as one LCTR.

Third-party determination

FINTRAC's third-party determination requirements apply to large cash transactions. When a client brings cash that may belong to, or be used for, someone else, staff need to take reasonable measures to determine whether a third party is involved and record what they find. This is the same identity data your onboarding process collects, so check how your vendors capture conductor and third-party details when evaluating KYC providers for iGaming operators.

Building a rolling cash log

A defensible 24-hour log usually has these features:

• One client identifier shared by the cage, tables, cashier kiosks and front-money system.
• Every cash receipt time-stamped and tagged with conductor, third party (if any) and beneficiary.
• Foreign cash stored with its Canadian-dollar equivalent and rate source.
• An alert when a client's 24-hour cash total crosses $10,000, and a separate review queue for patterns just below it.
• A written definition of how your casino measures the 24-hour window.

Cash buy-ins kept just under $10,000 do not trigger an LCTR on their own, but if they give reasonable grounds to suspect money laundering they can require a suspicious transaction report.

Filing the LCTR: deadline, channel and exceptions

15 calendar days

The FINTRAC large cash transaction report is due within 15 calendar days after the day the cash is received. For aggregated amounts, the report includes every cash receipt in the 24-hour group.

FWR, API or paper

Reports are submitted electronically through FWR or the FINTRAC API. Paper reporting is only available to reporting entities that do not have the technical capability to report electronically. Keep a copy of each report for at least five years.

Cash from financial entities and public bodies

No LCTR is required when the cash is received from a financial entity or a public body, or from a person acting on behalf of one. The exception depends on who the cash comes from, not on the amount, so the source should be documented.

LCTR vs CDR vs LVCTR vs STR

Casino cash $10,000 reporting Canada-wide is only one of four obligations that can apply to the same client in the same visit. This map shows which report follows which transaction.

The reports are not alternatives. A $15,000 cash chip purchase followed by a $15,000 cheque payout the same night can require an LCTR for the cash in, a CDR for the payout, and an STR if the pattern suggests the chips were bought to convert cash into a casino cheque. For how FINTRAC has enforced reporting failures, see our review of FINTRAC casino penalties.

Casino record keeping beyond the report

Large cash transaction records

Filing the report is half the obligation. FINTRAC also requires a large cash transaction record casino teams must keep for every receipt of $10,000 or more in cash. The record sits in your own files and must be retrievable on request.

Receipt of funds records at $3,000

Below the LCTR threshold, casinos keep a receipt of funds record for every single transaction of $3,000 or more. It also gives you the data needed to spot cash amounts that add up under the 24-hour rule. The full list from FINTRAC's casino record-keeping guidance (date modified 2022-04-27):

Five years, produced within 30 days

Records must be kept for at least five years and produced to FINTRAC within 30 days of a request. Identity details collected under FINTRAC's verification rules feed many of these records; our guide to client identity verification under FINTRAC rules covers that step.

For the full form instructions, read FINTRAC's large cash transaction guidance.

Responsible gambling note

This is a compliance explainer for casino and iGaming businesses. It does not encourage gambling and makes no claim that any game can be won. The legal gambling age in Canada is 18 or 19 depending on the province. If gambling is affecting you or someone close to you, contact your provincial responsible-gambling service; in Ontario, ConnexOntario provides free, confidential help. This article is not legal advice: confirm your obligations with FINTRAC guidance and qualified counsel.

18+ only. Gambling can be addictive — please play responsibly and only bet what you can afford to lose. If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, contact a local support service. This content is informational and never a guarantee of winnings.

Written and reviewed by the iGaming Expert Hub editorial team. Facts checked against primary sources; see the reference above.

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