Ontario fines theScore.Bet $200,000 over cash-out offers it did not honour

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has fined Score Media and Gaming Inc., which runs theScore.Bet, CAD 200,000, the maximum penalty available. The fine relates to cash-out offers that a player accepted but that the sportsbook did not honour.

What happened

On 14 March 2025 a player placed a $1,000 parlay on NHL, NBA and NCAA basketball games played that day. If every leg won, the bet would have paid more than $1 million.

With one leg left, theScore offered a cash-out of about $380,000. The player accepted straight away, but the transaction was rejected in automated checks because the odds had moved. Four minutes later a second offer of almost $100,000 appeared. The player accepted again, and again it was not honoured. The final leg lost and the player received nothing.

The Registrar found that neither offer could actually be achieved as shown. That breaches Standard 4.07 of the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming, which bars operators from showing players outcomes, prizes or features that are not achievable. AGCO chief executive Dr. Karin Schnarr said operators must make sure the opportunities they show can be honoured as described. theScore has 15 days to ask for a hearing before the Licence Appeal Tribunal.

Gamitas view

This is a fine against an operator, but the failure sits in technology that suppliers usually build: the cash-out engine, the odds feed and the rule that rejects a request when the price moves. Ontario now treats a cash-out offer that the system cannot deliver as misleading the player. Showing a price and then refusing it is a compliance risk, not just a bad customer experience.

Sportsbook platform and trading suppliers serving Ontario should check how their cash-out logic behaves when odds move between offer and acceptance, and what the player sees. Our Ontario compliance page tracks recent enforcement. Fines this year include CAD 350,000 for FanDuel over suspicious betting and CAD 70,000 for supplier Booming Games over prohibited auto-play. Gamitas lists 51 sportsbook platform providers for operators reviewing their stack.