It lost nearly C$153 million ($114 million) in 2018, according to a March 28 Dundee filing. The plan was to replace costly construction financing with cheaper debt after opening but business picked up slower than expected amid the new restrictions. “The regulations were supposed to cut down on illicit gambling but, of course, that hurt volumes across casinos.'įor Parq, one of the province’s largest-ever private developments, the clampdown came at a delicate time. who covers Dundee Corp., one of Parq’s two owners. “The anti-money laundering regulations in British Columbia have been a problem,' says Andrew Hood, a Toronto-based equity analyst at M Capital Partners Inc. But new rules implemented last year to more tightly identify sources of funds have put a damper on that rollicking trade. Vancouver-area casinos for years had been accepting millions of dollars in questionable cash from gamblers showing up with suitcases and hockey bags bulging with bills, according to British Columbia Attorney General David Eby.
When Parq Vancouver, a glimmering waterfront casino, opened amid much to-do in late 2017, few would’ve anticipated that a dirty money crackdown was about to throw the city’s roaring gambling business into turmoil.
