Ontario Regulator Fines Sportsbook Operator $200,000 Over Cash-Out Offers It Did Not Honour
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced on October 6, 2026 that it has issued a $200,000 monetary penalty against Score Media and Gaming Inc., a registered sportsbook operator in the province. The regulator said the company failed to meet Ontario’s player protection standards by presenting cash-out offers that were not honoured.
The case concerns a single $1,000 parlay placed on March 14, 2025. A player accepted two cash-out offers on that ticket, worth approximately $380,000 and almost $100,000, and neither was paid. AGCO chief executive and registrar Dr. Karin Schnarr described the amount as the maximum monetary penalty available to the regulator.
How Two Cash-Out Offers on One Parlay Went Unpaid
According to the AGCO, the $1,000 bet was a multi-leg parlay that required the player to predict the outcomes of several NHL, NBA and NCAA basketball games, all played on the same day. Had every selection won, the potential payout was more than $1 million.
After all but one of the legs had been successful, the operator presented the player with a cash-out offer of approximately $380,000. The player accepted it immediately, but the transaction was rejected during automated verification after the odds changed.
Four minutes later, a second cash-out offer of almost $100,000 appeared, and the player again accepted it straight away. That offer was not honoured either.
The bet ultimately settled as a loss, and the player received no payout.
The regulator’s release does not name the player or explain why the second offer failed, and it does not say whether the player has been compensated in any form. The AGCO stressed that its enforcement action is separate from any other avenue a player may use to resolve an individual dispute. Operators, it added, remain responsible for handling player complaints and disputes in accordance with Ontario and Canadian law.
Standard 4.07 and the Operator's Right to a Hearing
The Registrar found that neither cash-out offer was achievable as it was presented to the player. The penalty rests on Standard 4.07 of the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming, which requires that information shown to players before and during play does not mislead them or misrepresent games.
Among its minimum requirements, the standard says such information must not describe any outcomes, prizes or features that are not achievable. The AGCO alleges that, by failing to comply with it, the operator acted contrary to section 3.8 of the Gaming Control Act, 1992.
“Operators have a responsibility to ensure that the gaming opportunities they present are accurate and can be honoured as described,” Dr. Schnarr said in the release. “By imposing the maximum monetary penalty available, we are sending a clear message that these expectations are not optional.”
A spokesperson for the operator’s parent company told the trade outlet Sports Betting Dime that it takes its responsibility to provide customers with a fair and transparent betting experience seriously and has been engaged with the AGCO throughout the process.
Under Ontario’s process, an operator served with an Order of Monetary Penalty can request a hearing before the Licence Appeal Tribunal within 15 days. The tribunal is an adjudicative body within Tribunals Ontario and operates independently of the AGCO, so any challenge to the penalty would be heard outside the regulator itself.
