Ontario regulator fines theScore Bet $200,000 for unhonoured cash-out offers
The AGCO levied the maximum penalty after the operator presented a player with two cash-out offers that were not achievable.
TORONTO — The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has fined Score Media and Gaming Inc., operator of theScore Bet, $200,000 for allegedly failing to meet player-protection standards after presenting a customer with a cash-out offer that was not honoured.
On March 14, 2025, a player placed a $1,000 multi-leg parlay on NHL, NBA and NCAA basketball games, with a potential payout of more than $1 million.
After most legs were successful, theScore allegedly offered a $380,000 cash out, which the player accepted right away, but the transaction was rejected after the odds moved.
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Four minutes later, theScore allegedly offered a second cash-out of almost $100,000, which the player also accepted but was not honoured.
The bet settled as a loss, and the player received no payout.
The AGCO found that “neither cash-out offer was achievable as presented to the player.”
“Operators have a responsibility to ensure that the gaming opportunities they present are accurate and can be honoured as described,” said Dr. Karin Schnarr, chief executive officer and registrar of the AGCO.
The regulator said this contravened Standard 4.07 of the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming, which requires information provided to players “does not mislead players or misrepresent games,” including by describing outcomes that are not achievable.
The AGCO said theScore is alleged to have breached section 3.8 of the Gaming Control Act, 1992 by failing to comply with that standard.
The $200,000 fine is the maximum monetary penalty available and is the second-largest the AGCO has levied on an iGaming operator since Ontario’s regulated market opened in April 2022.
The largest was a $350,000 penalty issued to FanDuel in January for failing to appropriately identify and report unusual and suspicious betting activity involving Czech table tennis.
Other significant penalties included $150,000 against PointsBet in 2023 for responsible-gambling failures, $120,000 against Betty Gaming in August for age-verification failures, and $110,000 against BetMGM in 2025 for prohibited inducement marketing.
theScore was also fined $105,000 in October 2025 for responsible-gambling failures around player protection.
“As the regulator, the AGCO is committed to holding operators accountable when they fail to uphold commitments made to players or otherwise mislead them about gaming opportunities,” said Schnarr. “By imposing the maximum monetary penalty available, we are sending a clear message that these expectations are not optional.”
An operator served with a fine by the AGCO can appeal it by requesting a hearing before the Licence Appeal Tribunal, an adjudicative body within Tribunals Ontario that is independent of the AGCO, within 15 days.
Under the regulator's hearing rules, an order of monetary penalty is enforced as imposed if no written appeal request arrives within that window.
The regulator noted that its enforcement action is separate from any other avenue the player may have to resolve the dispute, and that operators remain responsible for handling player complaints under Ontario and Canadian law.
The AGCO said ensuring that players can have confidence in “the honesty and integrity of igaming sites” is fundamental to the market and that the framework offers a safer alternative to unregulated gambling sites.
theScore Bet joined Ontario's regulated market from its opening day in April 2022 and later entered Alberta when that province's regulated iGaming market opened on July 13, 2026.