According to an announcement from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), PointsBet allowed a Canadian customer to lose CA$500,000 in the span of three months with no interventions from the operator.
The AGCO has levied a fine of CA$150,000 for the operator allegedly responsible gambling violations, which include several infractions related to the user.
Per the AGCO report, PointsBet had flagged the customer as high-risk after a series of canceled withdrawals but the operator did not intervene and offer help or RG services.
Moreover, PointsBet did not require the customer to sit out the mandated 24-hour cool-off period when they removed the per-day deposit limits from their account.
The player also did not give explicit consent to be directly marketed to, however, PointsBet served the user with $35,500 in free play credits and also offered up tickets to sporting events for their loyalty.
“In Ontario, igaming operators have an obligation to proactively monitor their patrons’ play for signs of high-risk gambling, and to take appropriate actions to intervene and reduce the potential for gambling related harms. The AGCO will continue to focus on player protection by holding all registered operators to these high standards,” said AGCO CEO and Registrar Dr. Karin Schnarr.
The AGCO fined Apollo Entertainment CA$100,000 for its RG failings in August after a player lost CA$2 million in the span of four months.
As the company was winding down its sale of the US unit to Fanatics in September, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) fined PointsBEt $25,000 for accepting prohibited wagers in the state. The operator made a similar mistake last week in New York, accepting bets on in-state college teams.
“We are aware of the recent allegations put forth by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. Given this is an open legal matter, we will not provide further comment,” a PointsBet spokesperson told SBC Americas.
