The suspension of PointsBet by the AGCO might ultimately deteriorate into a “much uglier” scenario as the matter is still very far from being resolved after the operator’s ”systemic failures” Jontay Porter betting scandal.
It was almost four years from the launch of Ontario’s regulated market before the AGCO decided to issue a Notice of Proposed Order to any operator in the iGaming sector for the first time.
PointsBet Canada’s gaming registration was to be suspended for a period of five days; however, before the announcement, the platform was even functioning normally this morning.
The company has 15 days to challenge the AGCO decision at the License Appeal Tribunal. Based on the industry’s view of the suspension’s severity, it’s uncertain if the company is genuinely considering that option. So far, no official statement regarding an appeal has been made.
PointsBet Canada spokesperson said:
PointsBet Canada is disappointed by the AGCO’s decision to propose a five-day suspension of our operator registration.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has decided to pause PointsBet’s operations after it was accused of the widespread failure to properly oversee, detect, record, and report suspicious betting activities related to Jontay Porter in 2024.
Jontay Porter, ex-NBA player and former member of the Toronto Raptors, confessed to wire fraud conspiracy after intentionally playing two games of the Raptors poorly in early 2024 along with the gamblers. He is currently waiting for a hearing and has been handed a lifetime NBA ban.
Porter has been the center of the ongoing investigation by U.S. prosecutors into illegal betting across multiple professional sports leagues. As part of the crackdown on sports betting by the FBI, Terry Rozier, ex-Charlotte Hornet, was charged in October with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering. While he was accused of deliberately underperforming in NBA games to benefit gamblers, he has pleaded not guilty.
Two Major League Baseball players, Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, are scheduled for a jury trial in May on the charges of wire fraud, bribery to manipulate games/conspiracy, and money laundering, which corresponds to the alleged plan to fix bets on pitches.
Furthermore, there have been rumors about gambling misconduct in the UFC.
The AGCO remarked that when insider-betting allegations against Jontay Porter got public in early 2024, it instructed all Ontario-regulated sportsbooks to see if any bets on Porter had been made and to communicate any suspicious activities. PointsBet Canada, after what the AGCO described as a “significant delay,” admitted that it had not been offering such bets.
After reports of FBI arrests throughout the country in October which implicated Porter in a wider NBA betting scandal, the AGCO again asked Ontario sportsbooks to check if there had been any suspicious betting patterns in Porter-related markets.
PointsBet Canada, a year and a half after requesting a first reply, showed that it had in fact offered bets on Porter in those games.
Following an analysis of the PointsBet betting data, the AGCO verified the suspicious bets which were the main features of the 2024 Porter scheme. The regulator noted that these bets ought to have been identified and reported back then when they were made.
Dr. Karin Schnarr, AGCO Chief Executive Officer and Registrar said:
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. 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.
Phill Gray, the former head of sports betting operations at Sports Interaction said:
Part of the license compliance with Ontario was to be working with the IBIA (International Betting Integrity Association), which you had to prove you were registered and communicating with them. PointsBet was to my knowledge. That they failed to report wagers is certainly a management failure. But I don’t get anything sinister from it. There weren’t that many wagers in question and once news came in props would have been removed. That’s a heavy penalty for this. I dealt with the AGCO on some shady esports betting and it was quite easy to audit wagering history and show that you had been communicating with IBIA and removed said wagers. So again some clerical mismanagement on PointsBet’s part. But nothing enough to warrant this action in my opinion.
The tone of PointsBet’s official response seemed to echo that management there agreed with Gray’s assessment.
The company spokesperson said:
The issues stem from an initial inaccurate response in March 2024, caused by human error during an organizational transition — not any intent to withhold information. Upon discovering the correct data, we immediately disclosed it, cooperated fully with the investigation, and engaged proactively with the regulator. We respectfully believe the proposed sanction is disproportionate given the circumstances, our subsequent corrective actions, and our strong compliance record. We are carefully reviewing all options, including our right to a hearing before the independent License Appeal Tribunal.
