PointsBet Canada agreed to suspend its Ontario iGaming site for two days and undergo an independent audit using an AGCO-approved auditor and methodology, settling a case over its handling of suspicious betting tied to former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter.
The agreement cut the suspension from the five days initially proposed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. It ended the regulatory proceeding before a five-day hearing that had been scheduled for Oct. 19. The dates of the shutdown have not been set and “require AGCO approval”:https://www.covers.com/industry/online-sportsbook-suspension-what-does-it-mean-ontario-pointsbet-october-2026; PointsBet is responsible for notifying its customers.
The settlement requires an independent audit by an auditor and using a methodology approved by the AGCO. PointsBet must address shortcomings identified by that review, and any remedial measures must themselves be independently verified. Casino.org described the agreement as the first case in which an Ontario-regulated iGaming operator has agreed to a temporary site shutdown as a regulatory penalty.
The AGCO’s original February notice alleged that PointsBet had systemically failed to monitor, detect, document and report suspicious Porter-related wagering in 2024. Ontario-regulated operators must immediately report unusual or suspicious betting activity that could indicate bet-rigging.
The regulator had asked all licensed sportsbooks in early 2024 whether they offered Porter markets and had detected or reported suspicious activity. After a significant delay, PointsBet said it had not offered such bets. The AGCO sought fresh confirmations after an October 2025 U.S. Department of Justice indictment revealed a broader insider-betting scheme. Eighteen months after its first response, PointsBet acknowledged that it had offered betting on Porter in the relevant games.
After reviewing the operator’s wagering data, the AGCO said it confirmed signs of suspicious betting central to the scheme and that the wagers should have been detected and reported when they occurred. PointsBet maintained that its initial response resulted from human error during an organisational transition, rather than an intent to withhold information. It also said it promptly disclosed the correct data once identified and cooperated with the investigation.
The proposed suspension was the AGCO’s first of this kind in Ontario’s regulated iGaming market. The regulator had previously imposed monetary penalties on PointsBet in May 2022 over advertising and inducements and in November 2023 over responsible-gambling standards.
Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after deliberately leaving two NBA games in January and March 2024, allowing collaborating gamblers to profit from bets on his individual statistics. The NBA banned him for life in 2024. His sentencing is scheduled for December, and he faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.
