Big Wins & Anti-Money Laundering

[Devious]

I'm Canadian, and had a big win recently, and am hoping to have the withdrawl processed via wire transfer. As per the Casino's TOC there is not max amount for wire transfers - therefore, I'd like the entire amount to be transferred over. assuming this is a 50k withdrawl, what can I expect from my bank? Is there any concern? Should I have them do it in 5 smaller increments? The last thing I'd want is to have to forefit these winnings to the Canadian government!

Thanks,
Mike

 

[slafs]

First of all - Congrats on your winnings!

On topic: I would definately split it up a bit, $50k is guaranteed to ring a few bells.

Here in Norway we have to pay taxes (28% ) on all (single) winnings above 10.000NOK, about 1600USD, so I always split it into chunks smaller then that when I make withdrawals just to indicate that this is a smaller win. As long as the fees are low enough to be ignored and you know you will be paid in a timely manner I don't see why not.

Don't know what Canadian law has to say about it, we have the weirdest regulations here in Norway.

 

[Jasminebed]

No worries as a Canadian... gambling wins are not taxable, so just let your bank know you won it if questioned.

Congrats!

 

[Vegasbum]

I think internet gambling is illegal in Canada. So if you have to report the money what are you going to tell them?

Banks have to report large deposits as per Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act.

If I were you I would take the money out in smaller amounts

 

[darkpixie]

I'm not so sure it is illegal in Canada.... I've done a bunch of searches and nothing points me to anything definitive about it. My credit card company and bank know what I am up to, yet they have not said I can't do it. Also I recently signed up for a GOLD card with my local B&M casino and one of the marketing questions was about how much do you gamble online. If it was illegal why would they ask the question? They might as well ask, to what degree to you break the law on a daily, weekly monthly basis

It is illegal to operate an online casino in Canada presumably because it conflicts with the government controlled Casino and Lottery systems. But for the individual player to play online casinos based outside of Canada I think it is ok.
It is also apparently perfectly ok to run a payment processing business geared towards online gambling, so long as your clients do not reside in Canada, such is the case with Neteller. Furthermore, it is also ok to program and provide software to online casinos, as long you your company is not directly engaging in taking in bets, as is the case with outfits such as Chartwell Technologies

 

[Jasminebed]

My bank knows where those wire transfers come from. And Moneymart switched to Visa from Mastercard at least partly because the Visa allows payments back to the card.

As far as money laundering goes, as long as the OP can show that the monies deposited came from a legal source, can't see that it would create an issue. Questions might be asked, but I don't think it much more likely for one transaction than 10 within a short time period.

I'm pretty sure that offering gambling services to Canadians from with Canada is illegal, and I think Rival thought so too.

3Dice does not offer services to Belgians, Costa Ricans can't gamble in Costa Rican based ones, and when Lasseters was around out of Austrailia, they did not offer services to Austrailians as I recall. I'm sure more instances could be found.

 

[darkpixie]

At most you will probably need to sign a Declaration of Source of Funds form at your bank. (the name of it may not be exactly correct) But I remember back in the day when I worked in banks, VERY rarely someone would need to fill in the form for deposits over $10,000 but if memory serves me correctly, its normally a cash deposit at the teller that triggers this sort of form. I would definitely ask for a wire transfer. That way the bank will not hold the funds (or will have far less grounds to) and will be unlikely to ask you for any paperwork.

 

[Jasminebed]

Fellow member Jeannie works at a casino in Canada, and provided a useful link about financial transactions.

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more info on FINTRAC

Cash is a big red flag, and requires reporting. So don't request via Western Union, you should be good to go with a wire transfer.

True North Strong and Free, enjoy your win! Our government would have to allow gambling losses to be tax deductible in order to tax winnings. Revenue Canada knows that the house wins more often than players.

 

[Devious]

This is all good news - thanks very much for all the useful info. I'll go ahead with the wire transfer, and am now just waiting for Klub8 to approve the withdrawl. They've been very quick on the ball so far!