Ontario’s AGCO moves to suspend PointsBet for 5 days

• Ontario’s gaming regulator has issued a Notice of Proposed Order to suspend PointsBet Canada’s iGaming registration for five days
• This is a first for the province’s regulated iGaming industry.
• PointsBet initially denied offering bets on former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter in 2024.
• The operator has 15 days to appeal the proposed suspension to the Licence Appeal Tribunal.

Ontario’s gaming regulator has moved to suspend PointsBet Canada’s iGaming registration for five days.

The regulator is citing an alleged systemic failure to monitor, detect, document and report suspicious betting patterns linked to the 2024 NBA bet-rigging scandal involving former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) issued a Notice of Proposed Order on 12 February 2026 — the first proposed registration suspension in the province’s regulated iGaming history.

A timeline of delays

The matter traces back to early 2024, when concerns emerged that Porter had been involved in an insider betting scheme linked to his playing time and on-court performance in Toronto Raptors games.

At the time, the AGCO directed all Ontario-regulated sportsbooks to confirm whether they had offered bets on Porter and whether any suspicious activity had been detected.

“PointsBet, after significant delay, advised the AGCO it had not offered any such bets,” the AGCO statement reads.

That response, the regulator now alleges, was inaccurate.

The Porter case re-emerged as a broader concern in the autumn of last year. In October 2025, the US Department of Justice unsealed indictments on Porter and syndicate members, revealing the case was part of a broader insider betting operation.

The AGCO required all regulated operators to reconfirm whether suspicious betting on Porter markets had occurred. In response to this further inquiry — 18 months after its initial response — PointsBet acknowledged for the first time it had indeed offered betting on Porter in those games.

Upon reviewing PointsBet’s wagering data, the AGCO confirmed the suspicious betting patterns were central to the scheme. Those wagers, the regulator stated, should have been detected and flagged at the time they were placed.

Dr. Karin Schnarr, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar, AGCO, 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.”

The Porter scandal in context

Jontay Porter was banned from the NBA for life in April 2024 following a league investigation. He subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admitting he had agreed to withdraw early from games so that co-conspirators could win bets on his performance, saying he did it to get out from under large gambling debts.

The scheme netted his co-conspirators approximately $1 million, and Porter faces an estimated $456,000 in fines and jail time.

The AGCO stressed the broader importance of timely reporting by licensed operators. Regulated iGaming operators are required to diligently monitor and immediately report unusual and suspicious betting activity on their sites that may be indicative of bet-rigging.

The timely identification and reporting of such issues warns sports leagues, integrity monitors, regulators and law enforcement of potential integrity concerns and allows operators globally to take steps to protect their patrons.

PointsBet pushes back

PointsBet Canada said it is “disappointed by the AGCO’s decision to propose a five-day suspension of our operator registration.”

A PointsBet spokesperson said:

“The issues stem from an initial inaccurate response in March 2024, caused by human error during an organisational 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.”

PointsBet said it believes the proposed sanction is disproportionate given the circumstances. The operator is reviewing all its options, including the right to a hearing before the independent Licence Appeal Tribunal.

An AGCO spokesperson confirmed to Canadian Gaming Business that the suspension will not take effect for at least 15 days, as this is a proposed order rather than an immediate suspension.

A pattern of enforcement

This is not the first time the AGCO has taken action against PointsBet. In May 2022, the AGCO fined the operator for advertising and inducement-related violations. In November 2023, the regulator awarded another fine for violations of Ontario’s responsible gambling standards.

The proposed suspension is also the second unprecedented regulatory action from the AGCO in a matter of weeks.

In January 2026, the regulator issued its first-ever fine related to sporting integrity, penalising FanDuel Canada $350,000 for allegedly failing to detect and report suspicious betting activity on a Czech table tennis competition.