The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has fined PointsBet Canada Operations 1 Inc. $150,000 for breaching Ontario’s responsible gambling regulations.
The AGCO sanctioned the company based on multiple allegations of breaches of the responsible gaming provisions of Ontario’s Internet Gaming Regulatory Standards.
The relevant violations violated multiple regulations including the Gambling Management Act and AGCO’s Online Gambling Standards, for which a fine of US$150,000 was imposed.
Irregularities
One of the violations was that the company failed to take action to help players who were harmed by gambling after being informed of potential high-risk warnings from players on multiple occasions, causing players to lose more than $500,000 in less than three months.
Furthermore, the operator did not implement a 24-hour cooling-off period when players lifted their daily deposit limits.
The operator was also found to have directly disseminated advertisements containing gambling inducements, bonuses or points without the active consent of players.
There are further shocking allegations that staff did not have a proper understanding of responsible gambling practices and that the operator failed to ensure staff received training, making it impossible for staff to help players who were harmed by gambling.
AGCO's position
The AGCO prioritizes player protection and requires registered operators in Ontario’s iGaming market to adhere to specific rules for responsible gambling, including prevention, advocacy, early intervention and support.
AGCO CEO and Registrar Dr. Karin Schnarr released a statement on this:
PointsBet Canada now has the right to appeal the notice to the independent regulator, the License Appeal Tribunal.
