Ontario gambling regulator fines theScore CA$105,000 for player protection failures
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has issued a CA$105,000 (US$74,900)1 CAD = 0.7133 USD
2025-10-09Powered by CMG CurrenShift fine to online casino theScore for failing to meet Ontario’s responsible gambling and player protection standards.
The regulator said a review found multiple lapses tied to one patron who wagered CA$2.5 million (US$1.78 million)1 CAD = 0.7133 USD
2025-10-09Powered by CMG CurrenShift and lost about CA$230,000 (US$164,000)1 CAD = 0.7133 USD
2025-10-09Powered by CMG CurrenShift over eight months, including roughly CA$100,000 (US$71,300)1 CAD = 0.7133 USD
2025-10-09Powered by CMG CurrenShift in the first month.
According to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the activity showed frequent, high-stakes play, escalating losses, repeated bonus requests, loss-chasing, and signs of distress reported to a VIP host – red flags that should have prompted timely intervention.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario added that the operator relied on self-assessments and did not conduct meaningful due diligence, despite “inaccurate income documentation.”
Under Ontario’s Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming, registered operators must proactively monitor play, intervene when risks are detected, and ensure staff are trained to support player protection.
The regulator noted Ontario’s regulated market, launched in 2022, is designed to provide safer alternatives to unregulated sites through stricter oversight.
The operator has the right to appeal the order to the License Appeal Tribunal, an independent body within Tribunals Ontario.
Elsewhere in Ontario, online gaming supplier Playson recently partnered with operator High Flyer Casino and extended its presence in the region.
Abi Bray brings strong researching skills to the forefront of all of her writing, whether it’s the newest slots, industry trends or the ever changing legislation across the U.S, Asia and Australia, she maintains a keen eye for detail and a passion for reporting.
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The Backstory
Why Ontario’s market faces another compliance test
Ontario’s regulated online gambling market was built to channel bettors away from gray sites with stronger oversight and player safeguards. Since the market opened in 2022, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has stressed that operators must proactively monitor risky play, intervene early and make promotions clear and attainable. The latest enforcement action against theScore — a CA$105,000 penalty tied to a single high-intensity player whose wagering showed multiple red flags — fits that pattern of tightening discipline and growing expectations around responsible gambling and consumer transparency. Under the province’s Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming, companies are obligated to detect and address risk, train staff and take responsibility for third-party conduct. TheScore has the right to appeal to the License Appeal Tribunal, but the penalty underscores how regulators are raising the bar on day-to-day controls as the market matures.
The current action arrives as Ontario’s competitive field broadens and operators recalibrate the balance between growth and safety. Penn Entertainment expanded its Canadian footprint by introducing a standalone casino app under theScore brand, promising a deeper content slate and integrated wallet with its sportsbook. That move, detailed in Penn Entertainment launches theScore in Ontario, positioned the company to capture more share with more than 1,200 games and exclusive titles. It also raised the operational stakes: more scale and higher-value VIP segments can amplify both revenue and compliance risk if oversight lags. TheScore’s fine illustrates the regulator’s expectation that larger and more sophisticated platforms harden controls commensurate with their growth.
Earlier penalties that set the guardrails
Ontario has been signaling its enforcement posture for months through targeted penalties that map to three core policies: protect vulnerable players, stop misleading promotions and police affiliate activity as if it were the operator’s own. In May, the regulator fined Well Played Media’s Casino Days CA$54,000 for a welcome offer that required a CA$2,000 deposit and wagering CA$70,000 in seven days to unlock the full bonus — with key terms buried in links. The case, covered in AGCO fines Casino Days CA$54,000 for deceptive bonus practices, concluded that the structure pushed high-risk play and that “reasonably attainable” promotions must be the norm. The ruling drew a bright line under Standard 2.05’s restrictions on inducements to prospective customers and broader consumer-protection standards that discourage designs likely to generate steep losses.
A parallel track has targeted marketing inducements routed through events and affiliates. In April, BetMGM received a CA$110,000 penalty for three instances in which representatives or marketing partners used cash offers to spur new accounts — including a CA$100 cash-for-sign-up pitch at a franchise expo and affiliate campaigns that produced hundreds of registrations and sizable commissions. The decision, recapped in BetMGM receives CA$110,000 fine in Ontario, leaned on Standards 1.19 and 2.05, holding operators liable for third-party conduct inside the province. Together, the Casino Days and BetMGM cases previewed the enforcement logic now applied to theScore: if behavior or marketing promotes excessive risk or skirts disclosure and oversight, penalties follow.
Responsible gambling lapses in focus
TheScore’s penalty turns on a single customer’s months of frequent, high-stakes wagering marked by escalating losses, bonus requests, loss-chasing and signs of distress flagged to a VIP host. As reported in Ontario gambling regulator fines theScore CA$105,000 for player protection failures, the regulator said the operator leaned on self-assessments and did not adequately vet income documentation. That profile — deepening losses, risk signals in customer service exchanges and insufficient intervention — maps closely to the province’s standards requiring active monitoring, timely outreach and a risk-based checklist to escalate support or impose limits.
The subtext is broader than one case. Ontario’s safeguards are designed to differentiate the regulated market from offshore offerings by proving that operators can scale responsibly. Enforcement aligns the incentives. Firms that capture VIP play must demonstrate disciplined thresholds for review and action. The AGCO’s message is that sophisticated customer management and accurate affordability checks are not optional. As more operators add VIP features and standalone casino apps, detection models, frontline training and documentation must evolve, or fines and remediation costs will mount.
Cross-border signals on payment and illegal markets
Ontario’s playbook echoes moves by U.S. regulators that also prioritize consumer protection and market integrity. In Massachusetts, regulators fined DraftKings US$450,000 for processing wagers funded by credit card deposits after the state’s ban took effect with legal sports betting. The decision, outlined in the commission’s final noncompliance order and reported as the largest sports betting penalty to date by NBC Boston, required refunds and a third-party audit spanning the operator’s go-live window. That case mirrors Ontario’s view that payment controls are foundational and that remediation must include restitution and independent review when lapses occur.
Regulators are also targeting unlicensed competition to shore up the regulated channel. Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Council has issued US$250,000 in fines against five offshore books for taking illegal bets, bringing its total to US$600,000, according to Tennessee sports betting regulator issues US$250,000 in fines to offshore operators. While penalties alone rarely force offshore exits, the campaign accompanies cease-and-desist orders and signals cooperation with law enforcement. For Ontario, the parallel is clear: tough action against licensed operators that slip on safeguards goes hand in hand with efforts to make the regulated alternative safer and more transparent than gray markets.
What’s at stake for operators and players
TheScore’s penalty reinforces a compliance hierarchy that will shape product design, VIP engagement and affiliate strategies through the next growth phase. For operators, the cost of weak controls includes direct fines, reputational damage, potential appeal costs and internal audits that divert resources from expansion. For affiliates and event marketing, the message is to filter campaigns through Ontario’s inducement rules and maintain documented oversight. For product teams, promotional mechanics and terms must be surfaced prominently and pass a reasonableness test that regulators have already applied in prior cases.
For players, tighter standards should translate to clearer promotions, faster interventions when risk spikes and more consistent limits mediated by trained staff. Ontario’s April revenue gain — noted in the Casino Days enforcement coverage — shows a growing market. The regulator’s posture suggests growth cannot outpace controls. As Penn’s theScore casino app expands and rivals add content and VIP services, the province’s standards place the onus on operators to prove that scale and safety can rise together.
The through line across these actions — from inducements and disclosure to payment integrity and player monitoring — is clear. Regulators are not waiting for systemic failures. They are shaping behavior with targeted, public penalties that clarify how rules apply in practice. TheScore’s case, like those involving Casino Days, BetMGM and DraftKings, extends that precedent and signals the next wave of scrutiny will fall on the daily mechanics of responsible gambling, not just the marketing banners at the top of the page.
