Story byGeoff ZochodneSat, February 14, 2026 at 2:45 PM UTC·6 min readIt’s not uncommon to see an athlete suspended for a few games every so often. But when was the last time you saw a sportsbook face a suspension?That’s exactly what the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) proposed Thursday, saying that, in a first for the province’s regulated online gambling industry, it was trying to suspend PointsBet’s de facto iGaming license for five days. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe reason, the AGCO said, was “PointsBet’s alleged systemic failure to properly monitor, detect, document and report suspicious betting patterns related to the 2024 bet-rigging scheme involving (the NBA's) Jontay Porter, which has been the focus of a major criminal investigation in the United States.”Ontario’s online sports betting regulator went into further detail about the chain of events that led to PointsBet’s proposed suspension. In short, it took 18 months for the operator to reveal it had Porter-related betting markets up that bore signs of suspicious wagering. However, PointsBet’s account is more innocent, saying the problems “stem from an initial inaccurate response in March 2024, caused by human error during an organizational transition - not any intent to withhold information.”“Upon discovering the correct data, we immediately disclosed it, cooperated fully with the investigation, and engaged proactively with the regulator,” a spokesperson for PointsBet Canada said. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe online sportsbook operator also said it “respectfully” believes the proposed punishment is a bit harsh, and that it is reviewing all its options, including a request for a hearing before the independent Licence Appeal Tribunal. I’m not here to judge the fairness of this situation, but I will say that the patience among lawmakers and regulators for any sports betting-related integrity issues is wearing thin. Other recent happenings suggest as much.