BetMGM and PointsBet first to be slapped with Ontario advertising fines
Newly-launched sportsbooks fined C$78k over inducement-led ads in early regulatory penalties
BetMGM and PointsBet Canada have been issued with fines totalling C$78,000 ($60,863) by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) for advertising breaches relating to inducements.
The fines, the first issued to licensed operators in the Canadian province since its launch on April 4, relate to advertisements made on social media and via publicly placed advertisements.
BetMGM Canada was issued with a fine of $48,000 for violating standards 2.04 and 2.05 of the Ontario advertising code, relating to the restriction of inducement-led advertising to operator’s respective sites only or via direct marketing.
Three violations were identified by AGCO investigators – one tweet sent on launch day advertising a C$100,000 casino bonus contest, and two separate advertisements relating to a C$10 bonus tweeted on April 6 plus an advertisement offering 100 free spins, tweeted on April 8.
In all cases, these initial tweets were later published again on Twitter at a later date/time.
In addition, a tweet from BetMGM stating that “the more money you put in per bet, the higher your chance is of winning”, tweeted on April 10, also was found to be in violation of Standard 2.04, relating to truthful and non-misleading advertising.
In a separate regulatory action, PointsBet was issued with a fine of C$30,000 for two violations of Ontario advertising standards relating to inducements.
The two above the line advertisements appeared on posters on GO trains in Ontario and included inducements to use PointsBet’s services for free.
Under Ontario regulations, any operator served with a fine by AGCO has the right to appeal against the said fine to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) which functions as an independent adjudicator to AGCO and is part of Tribunals Ontario.
AGCO CEO and registrar Tom Mungham highlighted the fines as proof of the regulator’s desire to enforce a tough line relating to enforcement of advertising codes.
“The AGCO holds all registered operators to high standards of responsible gambling, player protection and game integrity, and monitors their activities to ensure they are meeting their obligations under Ontario’s Gaming Control Act and the Standards.” Mungham added.