AGCO penalises theScore.Bet over unachievable cash-out offers

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has issued a $200,000 monetary penalty against Score Media and Gaming Inc., operator of theScore.Bet, over two cash-out offers the Registrar found were not achievable as presented.

The AGCO’s October 6 news release concerns a $1,000 parlay placed on March 14, 2025. The bet covered NHL, NBA and NCAA basketball games, with a potential payout of more than $1 million if every selection succeeded.

After all but one leg had won, theScore.Bet presented a cash-out offer of approximately $380,000. The player accepted immediately, but automated verification rejected the transaction after the odds changed, according to the AGCO. Four minutes later, the operator presented a second offer of almost $100,000. The player accepted that offer too, but it was not honoured. The bet settled as a loss and the player received no payout.

The regulator’s finding

The AGCO said the Registrar found that neither offer was achievable as presented. The cited requirement is Standard 4.07 of the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming, which provides that information supplied before and during gameplay must not mislead players or misrepresent games. Its minimum requirements prohibit descriptions of 'outcomes, prizes, or features that are not achievable'.

The release separately identifies the alleged statutory basis. It says theScore.Bet is alleged to have failed to comply with Standard 4.07 contrary to section 3.8 of Ontario’s Gaming Control Act, 1992. The release therefore records the Registrar’s finding and the allegation against the operator, but does not set out any adjudication by the Licence Appeal Tribunal.

The published account does not describe the automated verification process, the precise terms displayed with either offer or any response from Score Media and Gaming. It also does not establish that the penalty determines an individual compensation claim. The AGCO said its regulatory action is separate from other avenues available to players and that operators remain responsible for addressing complaints and disputes under Ontario and Canadian law.

AGCO chief executive and Registrar Dr Karin Schnarr said the $200,000 penalty was the maximum monetary penalty available. 'Operators have a responsibility to ensure that the gaming opportunities they present are accurate and can be honoured as described,' she said. 'By imposing the maximum monetary penalty available, we are sending a clear message that these expectations are not optional.'

The next procedural step

An operator served with an Order of Monetary Penalty has 15 days to request a hearing before the independent Licence Appeal Tribunal, the AGCO said. The release does not identify the service date, whether Score Media and Gaming has requested a hearing or any hearing date.

No further procedural date is identified. The AGCO’s penalty notice and any Licence Appeal Tribunal filing are the official records to monitor.