Ontario fines theScore Bet C$200,000 over failed cash-out offers
Ontario’s gambling regulator has hit theScore Bet with a C$200,000 penalty after a player was allegedly shown two major cash-out offers that disappeared after they attempted to accept them.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario imposed the maximum monetary penalty available for a single breach of its internet gaming standards against Score Media and Gaming, the PENN Entertainment-owned company operating theScore Bet.
The case centres on a C$1,000 multi-leg parlay placed in March 2025 covering NHL, NBA and NCAA basketball games.
With all but one leg successful, the wager was on course to return more than C$1 million.
According to the AGCO, theScore Bet displayed a cash-out offer worth approximately C$380,000.
The player accepted it immediately, but the transaction was rejected by the sportsbook’s automated verification system after the odds moved.
Around four minutes later, the player was presented with another cash-out opportunity worth almost C$100,000.
That offer was also accepted but failed to complete.
The remaining leg of the parlay subsequently lost, leaving the player with no return from the bet.
Ontario’s gambling regulator found that neither of the cash-out amounts displayed to the player was actually achievable as presented.
That breached provincial standards prohibiting gambling sites from providing misleading information or describing outcomes, prizes or product features that cannot actually be achieved.
AGCO CEO and Registrar Karin Schnarr said the maximum penalty was intended to reinforce the regulator’s expectations for licensed operators in Ontario.
“By imposing the maximum monetary penalty available, we are sending a clear message that these expectations are not optional,” Schnarr said.
The regulator’s action does not itself require theScore Bet to pay either of the failed cash-out amounts to the player.
The AGCO said its enforcement action was separate from other avenues available to players to resolve individual disputes and did not disclose whether the bettor had subsequently received any compensation.
It is the second Ontario penalty against theScore Bet in around 12 months.
The operator was fined C$105,000 in October 2025 over responsible gambling failures involving a player who wagered approximately C$2.5 million and lost around C$230,000 over an eight-month period.
The latest action also continues an active period of enforcement in Ontario’s regulated online gambling market.
Betty Gaming, Booming Games and NorthStar Gaming have all received penalties since August covering issues ranging from underage gambling and prohibited autoplay functionality to anti-money laundering controls.
theScore Bet has 15 days to appeal the latest penalty to Ontario’s Licence Appeal Tribunal.
