Ontario’s gaming regulator fined Score Media and Gaming Inc. C$200,000 on October 6, 2026, after theScore Bet showed a customer two cash-out offers that could not be completed. The penalty is the maximum monetary penalty available to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, or AGCO, according to its enforcement release.

The case puts a sharp question before Ontario’s regulated sportsbook market: when an offer appears on a bettor’s screen, how much responsibility does the operator carry if its own system later rejects the transaction?

The C$1,000 parlay behind the penalty

The customer placed the multi-sport parlay on March 14, 2025. It covered National Hockey League, National Basketball Association and NCAA basketball games. A perfect ticket would have paid more than C$1 million, according to the AGCO.

  • Original stake: about C$1,000
  • First cash-out offer: about C$380,000
  • Second cash-out offer: just under C$100,000
  • Regulatory penalty: C$200,000

After all but one selection had won, theScore Bet displayed a cash-out offer of about C$380,000. The customer accepted it immediately. The transaction failed during automated verification after the odds changed.

Four minutes later, the operator displayed another offer worth just under C$100,000. The customer accepted again. That transaction also failed. The final leg lost, and the bet settled without a payout, according to the AGCO’s announcement.

Why the AGCO intervened

The AGCO Registrar found that neither offer was achievable as presented. The finding falls under Standard 4.07 of Ontario’s Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming.

The standard says information shown to players before and during gameplay must not mislead them or misrepresent the game. It also bars operators from describing outcomes, prizes or features that cannot actually be received.

“Operators have a responsibility to ensure that the gaming opportunities they present are accurate and can be honoured as described,” AGCO Chief Executive Officer and Registrar Dr. Karin Schnarr said in the regulator’s announcement.

The practical message is direct. Changing odds may explain why an automated system rejected a transaction. In the AGCO’s view, that does not make an unachievable offer acceptable after it has been presented to the player.

The fine does not settle the customer’s payout dispute

The C$200,000 penalty is regulatory action. It is not an order requiring theScore Bet to pay the customer either cash-out amount.

The AGCO said its enforcement process is separate from other avenues available to players seeking resolution of individual disputes. Its announcement did not say whether the customer later received compensation, a refund or another payment.

That distinction matters. Ontario’s system separates the regulator’s role from the operator’s obligation to handle player complaints and disputes under Ontario and Canadian law. A penalty can establish that conduct breached gaming standards without settling every private financial claim.

What happens next

Score Media and Gaming Inc. may request a hearing before Ontario’s Licence Appeal Tribunal within 15 days of receiving the Order of Monetary Penalty. The tribunal is independent of the AGCO and forms part of Tribunals Ontario.

The decision creates a compliance problem that goes beyond the wording of sportsbook rules. Operators must ensure that live offers, automated checks and changing odds work together without showing players a value they cannot actually secure.

For Ontario bettors, the case draws a clear boundary around the promise implied by a cash-out button. A displayed offer is not automatically a guaranteed payment in every dispute. But the AGCO has made clear that an operator cannot treat an unachievable offer as harmless simply because its system rejected it seconds later.