PointsBet Accepts Ontario's First iGaming Suspension Over Porter Bets

The sportsbook will take its Ontario site down for two days, not the five the regulator first sought, and drops its appeal after admitting 18 months late that it took bets on Jontay Porter.

Francis Gable

21/10/26 · 2 minOctober 21, 2026 · 2 min read

PointsBet Canada has agreed to take its Ontario betting site offline for two days, settling a case over suspicious bets on former NBA player Jontay Porter that it failed to report, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) said on Oct. 20.

The AGCO had sought five days in February, and the shorter penalty still makes history. When the regulator announced the case, it called a suspension a first for Ontario's regulated online gambling market. Its two earlier sanctions against PointsBet, in May 2022 and November 2023, were fines.

Ontario Says PointsBet Missed the Porter Bets

In early 2024, insider betting allegations emerged around Porter, then a Toronto Raptors player. The AGCO asked every Ontario sportsbook whether it had offered bets on him and spotted anything suspicious. PointsBet, after what the regulator called a significant delay, said it had not offered any such bets.

In October 2025, a U.S. Department of Justice indictment showed Porter's case was part of a wider insider betting scheme. When the AGCO asked again, PointsBet admitted for the first time that it had taken bets on Porter in those games. That was 18 months after its first answer.

The regulator then reviewed PointsBet's betting data and found the suspicious patterns at the center of the scheme. It said those bets should have been caught and reported when they were placed.

PointsBet Drops Its Tribunal Challenge

On Feb. 26, PointsBet said it would fight the order at Ontario's Licence Appeal Tribunal. It called the penalty disproportionate and blamed human error, denying any systemic failure or intent to withhold information.

The settlement ends that proceeding, according to multiple industry reports. PointsBet also agreed to an independent audit, using an auditor and method the AGCO approves. The regulator said PointsBet commits to fixing any findings and that the fixes will be checked independently.

The regulator has not yet confirmed the dates of the two-day shutdown, according to industry reports. The audit can begin only once the AGCO signs off on who runs it and how.

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