PointsBet Canada accepts two day suspension of Ontario license
PointsBet Canada has agreed to a two-day suspension of its Ontario online gambling operations after reaching a settlement with the province’s gambling regulator over its handling of suspicious betting linked to former NBA player Jontay Porter.
The agreement with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) reduces the five-day suspension originally proposed by the regulator in February 2026.
PointsBet (Pointsbet Canada review) must also undergo an independent audit of its compliance and betting integrity controls, using an auditor and methodology approved by the AGCO.
The operator has committed to addressing any deficiencies identified during the review, with its corrective measures subject to independent verification.
The settlement concludes regulatory proceedings arising from PointsBet’s alleged failure to identify and report suspicious wagering connected to the 2024 NBA betting scandal.
The investigation centred on betting activity involving former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, who was banned for life from the NBA in April 2024 after a league investigation found he had disclosed confidential information to bettors and manipulated his participation in games for betting purposes.
Following the initial allegations, the AGCO instructed Ontario’s licensed betting sites to establish whether they had accepted wagers involving Porter and whether any suspicious activity had been identified.
PointsBet initially informed the regulator, following what the AGCO described as a significant delay, that it had not offered betting markets involving the player.
However, the situation changed in October 2025 when a US Department of Justice indictment revealed further details of a wider insider betting operation.
The AGCO subsequently required operators to review their records again, prompting PointsBet to acknowledge that it had accepted wagers on the basketball games in question.
The admission came approximately 18 months after its original response.
A subsequent examination of PointsBet’s wagering records identified suspicious betting patterns that the regulator said should have been detected and reported when the bets were placed.
Ontario’s regulated sportsbooks are required to maintain systems capable of identifying unusual betting activity and promptly reporting potential match-fixing or other integrity concerns.
Such reporting allows regulators, sporting organisations and other betting sites to investigate suspicious markets and take measures to protect customers.
At the time of the original enforcement action, AGCO Chief Executive Officer and Registrar Dr Karin Schnarr emphasised the importance of these obligations.
“Safeguarding the integrity of sports and Ontario’s sports betting market is a top priority for the AGCO. We require all operators to have robust systems and comprehensive staff training in place to reliably detect and report suspicious activity,” Schnarr said.
“Our regulatory framework is clear—operators must be equipped to detect and effectively respond to integrity risks, and we will take appropriate action when these standards are not met.”
The settlement marks the third regulatory enforcement action involving PointsBet in Ontario since the province launched its regulated commercial online gambling market in April 2022.
The AGCO previously imposed a monetary penalty on PointsBet in May 2022 for breaches of advertising and inducement rules.
A further monetary penalty followed in November 2023 over violations of Ontario’s responsible gambling standards.
The latest agreement avoids the longer suspension originally sought by the regulator but introduces additional independent oversight of PointsBet’s betting integrity procedures.
Neither the precise dates of the two-day suspension nor the timetable for completing the independent audit were specified in the settlement announcement.
