AGCO moves to suspend PointsBet over unreported Jontay Porter-linked bets

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has moved to suspend PointsBet Canada for five days, alleging the operator failed to report suspicious bets linked to a 2024 betting scandal involving former National Basketball Association player Jontay Porter.

In what the regulator described as a first for Ontario’s regulated iGaming industry, the AGCO issued a Notice of Proposed Order to suspend PointsBet’s registration, citing what it called a systemic failure to properly monitor, detect, document, and report suspicious betting patterns related to the Porter case, which has been the subject of a major criminal investigation in the United States.

In early 2024, after allegations of insider betting involving Porter, who played for the Toronto Raptors, the AGCO directed all provincially regulated sportsbooks to confirm whether they had offered bets on the player and whether any suspicious betting activity had been detected and reported. PointsBet, after what the regulator described as a significant delay, advised the AGCO that it had not offered such bets.

However, in October 2025, following the public release of an indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice that revealed the Porter case formed part of a broader insider betting scheme, the AGCO required operators to reconfirm whether suspicious betting had occurred on Porter-related markets. In response to the renewed inquiry - eighteen months after its initial reply - PointsBet acknowledged for the first time that it had offered betting on Porter in those games.

After reviewing the operator’s wagering data, the regulator confirmed indications of suspicious betting that were central to the scheme uncovered in 2024. According to the regulator, those wagers should have been detected and reported at the time they occurred. 

Regulated iGaming operators act as a critical first line of defense in protecting the integrity of sport and Ontario’s sports betting market and are required to diligently monitor, detect, and immediately report unusual and suspicious betting activity that may indicate bet-rigging, the regulator said. Timely reporting allows sports leagues, integrity monitors, regulators, and law enforcement to respond to potential integrity concerns and alerts operators globally to protect their patrons.

The regulator has previously sanctioned PointsBet. In May 2022, it issued a monetary penalty for advertising and inducement-related violations, and in November 2023 imposed another monetary penalty for breaches of Ontario’s responsible gambling standards. 

iGaming operators served with a notice of proposed order to suspend their registration have 15 days to appeal the AGCO’s action to the Licence Appeal Tribunal, part of Tribunals Ontario and independent of the AGCO.

“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,” said Dr. Karin Schnarr, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of the AGCO.

"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."