AGCO cuts PointsBet Ontario suspension to two days

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has agreed to reduce a proposed suspension of PointsBet Canada's website in the province from five days to two. The date of the suspension has not been confirmed. The regulator said the new settlement with PointsBet concluded the regulatory proceeding.

The AGCO announced in February that it intended to suspend PointsBet's licence, citing the operator's failure to detect suspicious bets. Reportedly, no Canadian regulator had previously taken this kind of step against a licensed operator. The matter stemmed from a 2024 scheme to rig bets that involved Jontay Porter of the NBA. Regulators alleged that PointsBet did not adequately monitor, detect, document or report suspicious betting patterns tied to that scheme.

Under the settlement, PointsBet will undergo an independent audit of its Ontario operations. The auditor and the audit methodology must both be approved by the AGCO. It was reported that no explanation was given for the shorter suspension.

The AGCO said: "The AGCO is committed to protecting the public interest and ensuring that gaming in Ontario is conducted with strong player protections." The regulator gave the statement in response to a request for comment from NEXT.io.

Once the scheme became known, the AGCO sought confirmation from every sportsbook licensed in Ontario about whether it had taken bets on Porter, and asked operators to identify or report suspicious betting activity after the early 2024 allegations. PointsBet's first response, given after a significant delay, was that it had not offered such bets. Its position changed once a Department of Justice indictment set out the insider betting scheme, and it then acknowledged that it had seen such bets. The AGCO reviewed PointsBet's data and confirmed the suspicious betting indications from 2024, which the regulator said should have been detected and reported at the time.

At the time of the initial suspension decision, PointsBet told NEXT.io it was "disappointed" with the ruling. The operator said the issues stemmed from an initial inaccurate response caused by human error during an organisational transition, and that there was no intent to withhold information. It said: "Upon discovering the correct data, we immediately disclosed it, cooperated fully with the investigation, and engaged proactively with the regulator."

Reportedly, the AGCO had already imposed two sanctions on PointsBet for separate incidents. One was a fine over an advertising violation in 2022, and the other concerned responsible gambling breaches in late 2023.