PointsBet Canada Agrees to Two-Day Ontario Shutdown in Jontay Porter Betting Scandal

PointsBet Canada has agreed to a two-day suspension of its Ontario gaming operations, down from five days, after reaching a settlement with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) over its handling of suspicious betting activity linked to the Jontay Porter betting scandal.

A spokesperson for PointsBet Canada said this morning (Oct. 21) the timing of when the site will be shut down is yet to be determined.

Porter Scandal Rocked NBA

We reported on the Notice of Proposed Order against PointsBet Canada issued last February, in which the AGCO alleged that the iGaming operator failed to monitor, detect, document, and report suspicious betting patterns in 2024 connected to Porter.

Porter, a National Basketball Association (NBA) player, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after deliberately exiting two NBA games in January and March 2024 while a member of the Toronto Raptors, collaborating with gamblers to cash in on prop bets on his individual statistics.

Porter was banned for life by the NBA in 2024. His sentencing has been postponed several times and is currently scheduled for this December. Porter faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. Federal sentencing guidelines suggest a significantly shorter term.

AGCO Cites Inaccurate Betting Reports

The AGCO based the suspension on what it said was delayed and inaccurate reporting after the regulator directed all Ontario sportsbooks in early 2024 to confirm whether they had offered bets on Porter and if they had detected suspicious betting activity. 

The AGCO said PointsBet Canada initially told it that it had not offered bets on Porter.

However, following the October 2025 arrests of several individuals in a wider NBA gambling investigation, including NBA player Terry Rozier and coach and former player Chauncey Billups, the regulator again put a call out to Ontario sportsbooks to review and confirm whether they had offered betting markets involving Porter and if they had detected suspicious activity.

PointsBet Reverses Its Initial Response

At that point, PointsBet Canada said it had, in fact, offered betting on Porter markets in those games.

PointsBet Canada said the initial inaccurate response in March 2024 was caused by “human error during an organizational transition … not any intent to withhold information.”

PointsBet Canada said it would appeal the five-day Ontario suspension to the Licence Appeal Tribunal two weeks after the penalty was announced. A five-day hearing had been scheduled for Oct. 19, according to Canadian Gaming Business, but the parties negotiated the settlement.

Independent Audit Required Under Settlement

The settlement marks the first time an Ontario-regulated iGaming operator has agreed to temporarily shut down its gaming site as a regulatory penalty.

PointsBet Canada declined to comment on the settlement this morning. The AGCO issued a brief statement on its website Tuesday (Oct. 20) announcing that the settlement had been reached, with no comments attached.

According to the AGCO statement, PointsBet has agreed to conduct an independent audit using an auditor and methodology approved by the AGCO and to implement corrective measures to address any identified deficiencies. The AGCO added that remedial action must be independently verified.