PointsBet Canada will suspend its Ontario online gambling site for 48 hours after reaching a settlement with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) over its handling of suspicious bets linked to former NBA player Jontay Porter.
The agreement reduces the five-day suspension proposed by the regulator in February 2026 and concludes the resulting regulatory proceeding. PointsBet must also undergo an independent audit of its Ontario operations, using an auditor and methodology approved by the AGCO. The operator has committed to addressing any findings, with corrective measures subject to independent validation.
The suspension date has not yet been confirmed. The case is expected to mark the first suspension of a sports betting or online casino operator in Ontario’s regulated online gambling market.
AGCO Settles Case After Reducing Proposed Suspension
The AGCO issued a Notice of Proposed Order on 12 February, seeking a five-day suspension of PointsBet’s iGaming registration. The regulator alleged that the operator had failed to identify and report suspicious betting patterns associated with the Porter investigation.
PointsBet subsequently requested a hearing before the independent Licence Appeal Tribunal on 26 February to contest the proposed penalty. The two sides have now resolved the proceeding through an agreement that cuts the suspension to two days. The regulator has not publicly explained why it accepted a shorter suspension.
In February, AGCO CEO and Registrar Karin Schnarr outlined the standards expected of licensed sportsbooks. “We require all operators to have robust systems and comprehensive staff training in place to reliably detect and report suspicious activity,” Schnarr said.
She added that operators must be equipped to address risks to sports integrity and that the regulator would act when its requirements were not met.
Delayed Disclosure Raised Questions About Betting Controls
The case began in early 2024, when the AGCO asked Ontario-licensed sportsbooks to confirm whether they had offered bets on Porter and whether they had detected or reported suspicious betting activity related to the player.
PointsBet initially responded after a significant delay, saying it had not offered wagers on Porter. However, following the publication of a US Department of Justice indictment detailing the insider betting scheme, the regulator sought confirmation from operators again.
Approximately 18 months after its initial response, PointsBet acknowledged that it had offered betting markets involving Porter. The AGCO then reviewed the company’s wagering data and confirmed indications of suspicious activity that it said should have been detected and reported at the time.
PointsBet attributed its initial inaccurate response to human error during an organisational transition. When the regulator announced its proposed suspension, the company stated it was “disappointed” with the decision and said there had been no intention 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 at the time.
The independent audit required under the settlement will examine PointsBet’s control environment in Ontario. The operator must address any issues identified through the review, and the resulting remediation will undergo independent validation.
The company has faced previous regulatory sanctions in the province. The AGCO fined PointsBet for an advertising violation in 2022 and imposed another sanction for responsible gambling breaches in late 2023.
Porter Scandal Drives Wider Betting Restrictions
The regulatory case forms part of the wider fallout from the betting scandal involving Porter, who played for the Toronto Raptors. The NBA banned him for life in 2024, and he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in July, according to the supplied reports. He is awaiting sentencing.
The case has intensified scrutiny of how sportsbooks monitor player proposition bets and identify potentially manipulated activity. The NBA has introduced further restrictions on certain wagers during the 2026-27 season, which is now underway.
In an October 16 memorandum, the league instructed its sportsbook partners to stop offering parlays combining multiple under bets on the same player. The restrictions also cover bets on opening tips and certain individual plays, alternate under lines with larger payouts, and under bets on players projected to play fewer than 12 minutes.
The NBA estimates that its sportsbook agreements cover more than 99% of the US betting market. However, those agreements do not extend to prediction markets offering sports-related contracts under federal commodities oversight.
The Porter investigation also exposed weaknesses in the initial reporting process used by PointsBet, according to the AGCO’s findings. The regulator has emphasised that licensed operators must maintain systems capable of identifying suspicious betting and reporting it promptly. PointsBet sold its United States operations to Fanatics in 2024 and continues to operate in Australia and Canada.