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Senate committee approves bill that proposes national framework for sports betting ads

The latest measure that proposes establishing a national sports betting advertising framework in Canada is moving forward following approval by a Senate committee this week.

Bill S-211, the National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act, was approved by the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications. Bill S-211 is the latest attempt to establish a national framework for sports betting ads after lawmakers in Canada considered a similar measure in 2024. The bill, Bill S-269, was approved by the Senate but stalled after being sent to the House of Commons. Sports organizations, including the NFL and NHL, voiced concerns about the measure last year.

“The saturation of ads was an issue that should have been dealt with from the start,” said Bill S-211 sponsor Hon. Sen. Marty Deacon. “I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that today in Canada, it is impossible to watch a sporting event without being encouraged to gamble.”

The potential structure of a national framework in Canada

The 2025 version, Bill S-211, was approved by Senate members this week during a hearing that lasted less than 10 minutes. The piece of legislation was passed with no debate. The committee approved Bill S-211 after it received a second reading in June by the Senate.

“Other countries where sports betting is prominent have developed approaches, in the public interest, to restrict sports betting advertising,” says Bill S-211.“Parliament recognizes the need for a reasonable and standardized approach across Canada to reduce the incidence and risk of harm that could result from the proliferation of advertising and promotion of gambling activities for both minors and others who are at risk of such harm.”

Bill S-211 mandates a national framework on sports betting ads to identify measures to regulate the marketing with limits on location and scope. A national standard is also required for the “prevention and diagnosis of harmful gambling and addiction.”

The bill calls for the Minister of Canadian Heritage to lead the development of the national framework. Bill S-211 now heads for its third reading in the Senate.

Canada’s current advertising landscape

Bill S-211 proposes a national framework, but regulators in Ontario are already taking steps to provide safeguards for sports betting ads. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario implements a ban on language or imagery that would appeal primarily to minors.

The commission also only allows celebrities and athletes to promote RG initiatives.

Sports betting ads are sparking debates throughout the Great White North, with six in 10 Canadians reporting that they have seen a sports betting ad recently, according to a September 2025 study from Leger that surveyed 1,621 Canadians and 1,015 Americans.

About 75% of the Canadians who reported seeing sports betting ads said that there are too many of them. The results were up from 72% compared to the same period last year. The American results increased from 52% to 59%.

theScore fined $105K by the AGCO over player protection failures

PENN Entertainment’s Canadian gaming brand theScore is being penalized by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

The AGCO levied a $105,000 monetary penalty against theScore for failing to adhere to responsible gaming and player protection standards. According to a regulatory review by the AGCO, theScore allegedly violated the Registrar’s Standard for Internet Gaming, which mandates player protection support and the monitoring of player behavior across Ontario.

“Player protections are a fundamental requirement for any gambling operator looking to conduct business in Ontario,” said AGCO CEO and Registrar Dr. Karin Schnarr. “When operators fail to uphold these critical safer gambling standards, they not only betray the trust of their players but also undermine the integrity of Ontario’s regulated iGaming market.”

The regulatory review found that theScore failed to identify potential gambling-related harm when a customer wagered $2.5 million with the operator, resulting in approximately $230,000 in losses. The customer incurred the losses over an eight-month period, which included approximately $100,000 in losses during the first month of using the platform during that period.

The customer’s behavior when interacting with theScore and its personnel also raised concerns. The regulatory review found that the unnamed customer displayed troubling signs of distress to a theScore VIP host and requested bonuses at an alarming rate.

Inaccurate income documentation was also submitted to theScore by the customer.

The customer also exhibited “loss-chasing” behavior, with theScore failing to address the issue. The AGCO believes theScore “missed opportunities” to intervene.

The AGCO allows registered operators to appeal a monetary penalty. The appeal is filed with the License Appeal Tribunal, a group that assesses disputes in licensing sectors.

Canadian Gaming Business reached out to theScore but has yet to receive a response.

Recent layoffs for theScore

The Toronto-based company is being penalized by the AGCO after laying off more than 75 employees earlier this year. The brand laid off content and sales staff, with roughly half of its editorial newsroom dissolved. PENN Interactive also had a round of layoffs in 2024.

The job cuts impacted workers at its U.S. online sports betting brand, ESPN Bet.

Play Alberta adds two NHL players as athlete ambassadors

Play Alberta is receiving support from two NHL players who play for teams in the province.

The exclusive provider of online casino and sports wagering in Alberta reached an agreement with Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf and Edmonton Oilers power forward Leon Draisaitl, making the two NHL players partners of the gaming platform.

As part of the agreement, Wolf and Draisaitl will collaborate with Play Alberta to promote and deliver social responsibility and self-exclusion programs. The two athletes will also be featured in promotional and responsible gambling education materials offered by Play Alberta. GameSense, an RG tool provider, will also receive marketing featuring the two athletes.

“The addition of two new elite athlete ambassadors will help connect Alberta sports fans to Alberta-based teams with some of the most exciting, show-stopping performers this province currently has in it,” said Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis VP of Gaming Dan Keene. “Leon and Dustin are competitive, world-class professionals who give Play Alberta deeper opportunities to remind legal-aged Albertans of the responsible gambling features and tentpole matchups on the sports calendar.”

Play Alberta plans to provide bettors in the province with the opportunity to meet Wolf and Draisaitl. The operator will offer hockey fans and its social media followers access to win exclusive meet-and-greets throughout the entire NHL season, which began on Oct. 7.

Wolf and Draisaitl partnered with an online gaming provider that has more than 434,000 registered player accounts. In 2024-25, Play Alberta reported roughly $275 million in net sales. The results were an increase of more than $35 million compared to the previous year.

“The chance for me to team up with an up-and-coming, energetic platform like Play Alberta is one that I’m very excited for,” said Draisaitl. “I’ve seen firsthand how passionate sports fans in Alberta are, and it’s a great opportunity for me to better connect with Flames fans while helping establish Play Alberta’s social responsibility features.”

Wolf and Draisaitl enter a new NHL season following strong campaigns last year.

Draisaitl, the 2025 Rocket Richard Trophy winner, finished the 2024-25 NHL season with 106 points, including 52 goals. Wolf is a former Calder Trophy finalist, an award given to the NHL’s top rookie. Wolf finished last season with 1,549 saves.

Play Alberta adds Flames and Oilers as partners

Play Alberta landed Wolf and Draisaitl as athlete ambassadors after securing deals with their respective teams. Last September, Play Alberta announced a partnership extension with the Oilers that included logo placement on the home jerseys of the Canadian team.

That same month, Play Alberta signed an insignia deal with the Flames. The extension also made Play Alberta the exclusive iGaming and sports betting partner of the Flames.

Delasport introduces sports predictions jackpot game to Ontario

Ontario’s iGaming operators can now offer their players a new kind of sports prediction jackpot game to augment their online sports betting and casino operations.

European gaming software supplier Delasport has received iGaming Ontario (iGO) approval for SuperPot, a product it says is the first of its kind in the market. Players guess the outcome of upcoming major sports games and as they add tickets, they contribute towards building the pot. The player with the most correct predictions wins, regardless of whether they get some outcomes wrong.

Delasport says this “Must-Win” approach differentiates SuperPot from traditional sports betting mechanics and appeals strongly to both sports bettors and online casino enthusiasts, suiting the latter demographic well through its simplicity and realistic chances of winning. Delasport Chief Commercial Officer Filippo Ferri said it merges sports betting with the thrill of casino jackpots.

SuperPot has been approved by iGaming Ontario (iGO) and certified by Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) for use in the regulated Ontario market. Any licensed operator can add the product to their platform, said Delasport in a release, which believes it will deliver risk-free margins and boost player engagement and retention.

Given how much major online gaming operators’ executives talk about the importance of cross-selling customers to and fro between sports betting and casino verticals, it could well appeal to the market.

The game will be available locally at first, and Delasport said that it is seeking further approval from iGO to launch it as a network game. Delasport first announced it this spring and showcased it at the Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto in June.

Another new operator joining the Goldrush

Meanwhile, buried in Delasport’s announcement of the game, the supplier revealed that another operator may soon be joining the 50 that are already live in the market.

Noting that it already powers platforms for brands like Titanplay and Maverick Games, Delasport said it will soon do the same for a new operator in the market: betnova.ca.

Bet Nova is one of several brands run by South Africa-based Goldrush Gaming Group, with which Delasport has an existing partnership. Bet Nova is currently listed as a retail operator on Goldrush’s site, but the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) website shows an approved iGaming operator license dated Aug. 25, 2025, for the betnova.ca domain name, issued to Goldrush Canada Ltd. 

Multiple operators are already queued up waiting to step into Ontario’s lucrative and highly saturated iGaming market. Las Vegas-based online casino High Roller is awaiting AGCO approval, while absolutebet announced in early September that it had been given the green light by the regulator.

Meanwhile, DraftKings’ standalone online casino brand Golden Nugget Online Casino launched in the province in August, a month during which the market set new all-time records for total wagering handle, online casino handle and online casino revenue.

IC360 recruits Ilkim Hincer to lead Canadian and international growth

Global gaming integrity specialist firm Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) has named veteran gaming and compliance expert Ilkim Hincer as its new president of Canadian operations and managing director of its global advisory strategy.

Hincer was the chair of the board at the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) until January and has also served in a number of leadership roles within Canadian and U.S. gaming. His past roles include as EVP and Chief Legal Officer of Hard Rock International and General Counsel for first the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) and subsequently Ontario’s Casino Rama, when it was operated by the company now known as PENN Entertainment.

His most recent role was five months spent as Chief Legal Officer at GeoComply. A longtime lawyer, Hincer has also held leadership positions at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, McCarthy Tétrault and Fogler, Rubinoff LLP and was a partner at the latter two firms.

“It’s a privilege to join IC360, a company that has rapidly become a global leader in delivering compliance, education, training, and integrity solutions to gaming, sportsbooks and sports organizations,” said Hincer in a release. “In an era where integrity must be proven through action, not mere words, I’m excited to contribute to IC360’s continued global expansion and its commitment to protecting the fairness of sports and the gaming ecosystem worldwide.”

Canadian regulatory expertise vital

IC360 called Hincer a recognized and highly respected figure in the global gaming community. The company said his extensive experience, particularly his firsthand knowledge of Canadian regulatory frameworks, will be key to spearheading the company’s expansion strategy.

The primary focus of that plan is the Canadian market, where IC360 intends to expand its suite of products, including the integrity monitoring dashboard and the ProhiBet prohibited bettor solution that it provides to gaming operators.

ProhiBet provides gaming operators with enhanced real-time alerts to help operators detect unusual or suspicious wagering behavior. It is used by a range of partners including numerous sportsbooks, sports leagues and now also Kalshi, the prediction market platform that offers sports event contracts across the U.S.

IC360 also wants to bolster its international client base and product development.

“Ilkim joining the IC360 team marks an immediate and significant step forward for our global strategy,” said IC360 Co-CEO Eric Frank. “His unparalleled understanding of the Canadian market, combined with his vast international exposure from his time with globally recognized organizations like Hard Rock, makes him an incredible addition to help drive our growth in Canada and enhance our service offering to international clients.”

Ontario awaits IC360’s self-exclusion tool

Hincer’s Canadian expertise will likely prove useful immediately, given that IC360 has been commissioned by iGaming Ontario (iGO) to develop a long-awaited self-exclusion system for the province’s regulated iGaming market.

Fourteen months ago, iGO announced it had accepted a joint bid from IC360 and IXUP, the firm which designed and operates Australia’s BetStop national self-exclusion register, to build a tool to allow Ontario players to block themselves from all of the province’s 50 licensed operators, as well as the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG).

iGO said at the time that it intended to build a program that integrates seamlessly with all regulated operators’ systems, provides anyone 19+ with easy access to create and manage their self-exclusion profile, and implements identity verification processes.

At the Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto in June, Ontario Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming Stan Cho announced that his ministry would launch a sweeping review of the province’s gaming industry. One thing he specifically mentioned was his belief that the upcoming self-exclusion system needs to be shared across not only all iGaming platforms but all land-based gambling, too.

The self-exclusion tool is still in development and yet to be rolled out.

SIGA accuses FINTRAC director of errors in federal court appeal

The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) is the latest Canadian gaming entity to challenge the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) in federal court after being fined.

FINTRAC fined the non-profit First Nations casino operator $1.175 million on Aug. 28, stating that SIGA had committed three compliance and/or reporting violations of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA).

FINTRAC determined that SIGA failed to file four separate suspicious transaction reports (STRs) despite reasonable grounds to do so, did not include money laundering or terrorist financing indicators in STRs that it did submit and failed to “properly assess the risk for all of its patrons.” The financial watchdog claimed that SIGA ignored multiple indicators of suspicious activity that met the threshold for reasonable grounds to report suspicious transactions.

SIGA’s appeal, filed on Sept. 26 and obtained by Canadian Gaming Business, names the Attorney General of Canada as the primary respondent and FINTRAC as a co-respondent.

SIGA alleged that FINTRAC Director Sarah Paquet committed “palpable and overriding errors” in her judgment and contradicted the findings of her own agency.

Exam’s focus was unprecedented

SIGA runs seven First Nations casinos in Saskatchewan and also operates the province’s only regulated and authorized online gaming website, PlayNow.com. In accordance with Saskatchewan’s gaming model, all of SIGA’s net revenue is reinvested into First Nations, local communities and the province’s coffers.

It noted that it has been the subject of eight FINTRAC examinations since 2007, including the most recent one in September 2024 that resulted in the million-dollar fine, and had never previously been issued a notice of violation or financial penalty until now.

The First Nations operator stated in its appeal that the 2024 exam focused on SIGA’s policies and procedures related to STRs, high-risk patrons and activities and transaction monitoring, things that SIGA asserted had never been the focus of any of the past FINTRAC exams.

After FINTRAC shared its findings with SIGA verbally on Sept. 27, 2024, SIGA said it provided a written list of actions it had taken in response on Oct. 3, 2024. FINTRAC subsequently cited SIGA for three violations.

Director overruled findings

SIGA disputed FINTRAC’s findings in May 2025. Among other complaints, the appeal claimed that Paquet determined that SIGA had filed prior STRs with respect to some of the alleged violations, even though FINTRAC had found this was not the case. SIGA also argued that Paquet did not reduce the financial penalties despite acknowledging that it is FINTRAC’s policy to do so when the entity being assessed has never been penalized before.

In addition, SIGA claimed that despite FINTRAC finding that 39 of 100 reviewed STRs contained no money laundering or terrorist financing indicators, Paquet overruled that conclusion and determined that 36 of those 39 STRs did in fact contain money laundering indicators.

“The director committed a palpable and overriding error in concluding that the appellant committed each of the three violations and in assessing the applicable penalties with respect to each violation,” wrote SIGA. The organization added that Paquet failed to apply or misapplied correct legal tests, took into account irrelevant considerations in her findings, committed errors in law and misconstrued SIGA’s reporting and FINTRAC’s own findings.

SIGA asked for the appeal to be allowed, for FINTRAC’s decision to be quashed and for all financial penalties to be vacated or at least reduced.

Following in footsteps

SIGA’s appeal in federal court follows similar challenges in recent weeks from the temporary, non-profit Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) casino in Toronto, which was fined around $200,000 for allegedly failing to conduct either an adequate risk assessment procedure or a compliance review, and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), which was fined $1 million for multiple alleged AML violations.

In their respective federal court appeals, CNE Casino and BCLC also claimed FINTRAC erred and misconstrued in its decisions. CNE Casino denied committing any PCMLTFA violation and pointed to a lack of criminal activity, while BCLC claimed it was “ambushed” by the financial watchdog.

OLG shutting down casino slots at multiple Ontario racetracks

Casino slots operations at multiple racetracks in Ontario will shut down next spring as the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s (OLG) Optional Slots at Racetracks Program (OSARP) ends.

OSARP was introduced by Premier Doug Ford’s provincial government in March 2019 as a temporary support system for eligible horse racetracks where slot facilities had previously closed, or where there were plans to relocate the gaming sites. Ontario ended previous slots program at racetracks in 2012, but slots returned to a few locations under OSARP in 2019 and 2020.

Two of those were Hiawatha Horse Park in Sarnia and Kawartha Downs near Peterborough. Since then, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment has operated Gateway Casinos Sarnia at the Hiawatha site near the border with Michigan, while Great Canadian Entertainment runs Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs.

However, OSARP will come to an end on March 31, 2026, and Canadian Gaming Business has learned that OLG there are no plans to keep casino gaming at either site. The sites currently each host 150 slot machines, but operations at the two small casinos will cease on or before that expiry date.

Staff at the respective municipalities were informed by OLG of the official decision to close the venues this week.

“From the outset, OSARP was scheduled to end on March 31, 2026, with the casino leases not being extended and partners made aware during the process,” OLG Director of Media Relations Tony Bitonti told CGB. “We will work closely with our casino service providers and property owners to ensure the decommissioning process for these sites is as smooth as possible.”

Both operators run larger nearby casinos

Gateway and Great Canadian each host larger permanent, non-OSARP casino venues close to the respective slots locations that are closing. Gateway runs Starlight Casino Point Edward and Great Canadian operates Shorelines Casino Peterborough.

Gateway Director of Communications and Public Affairs Rob Mitchell told CGB that it was not directly involved in the decision to shut down the slots for good and will help staff navigate the change over the coming months.

The Sarnia location is the only OSARP venue Gateway runs, so the multi-provincial casino operator’s other locations will not be affected. “Gateway remains committed to growth in the Ontario market,” Mitchell added.

“We have had the opportunity to operate Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs for 10 years, and during that time, it has been an important part of the eastern Ontario gaming marketplace,” Great Canadian EVP of External Relations and Business Development Chuck Keeling told CGB in a separate statement. “While we work through next steps with OLG and other key stakeholders, our immediate focus will be supporting our impacted team members and guests.”

Sarnia Mayor asks Ontario Premier to intervene

Sarnia staff including Mayor Mike Bradley were formally notified of the decision by OLG on Sept 29. He is disappointed in the decision, particularly as he feels no reasoning was provided beyond the expiry of the OSARP lease.

In an email seen by Canadian Gaming Business, Bradley implored Ford to step in. “No rationale for the closure,” Bradley wrote. “Losing over 100 jobs plus at this difficult time in the local, Ontario and Canadian economy while we struggle [with] the impacts with the U.S. tariff war is unacceptable from a government agency who give no rationale. My ask is simple: can you ask OLG to release the business case for the closure?”

Estimates provided by local media suggest the Sarnia closure could result in the loss of between 60 and 100 jobs and the Kawartha shutdown could eliminate up to two-dozen positions.

OLG data shows that slots at Gateway Casino Sarnia netted the city $103,700 in the quarter ended June 30, 2025, while the Cavan Monaghan township where Shorelines Slots is based reaped almost $70,000. The two sites have each raised tens of millions of dollars of revenue for the local communities across the entirity of their respective lifespans.

CGB understands that OLG will continue to pay the two municipalities for hosting slot machines through the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year on the same financial terms it is paying them for 2025-26.

Bragg expands theScore deal, enters 6th U.S. state with Caesars

Two Toronto-based gaming companies have leveled up their partnership as theScore has launched a much wider range of Bragg Gaming Group’s exclusive and proprietary online casino content via its casino app.

Through what Bragg termed a major expansion of the partnership between supplier and operator, players on theScore Casino app can now select from a large portfolio of the supplier’s best-performing games from its in-house studios, Atomic Slot Lab and Indigo Magic, as well as exclusive titles from top Powered By Bragg partners.

The Powered By Bragg program aggregates and delivers content from more than 16 game developers, including the likes of Galaxy Gaming, Gamomat, Bluberi, SegaSammy, Incredible Technologies, Four Leaf Gaming and more.

theScore’s parent company PENN Entertainment has scaled up the Canadian sports brand’s casino offering in recent times and launched the standalone theScore Casino app in April, with a larger library of third-party and in-house online slots, table games and live dealer content. PENN Interactive VP Jason Birney told Canadian Gaming Business last month that the casino-specific platform is designed to cater to casino enthusiasts first, rather than sports fans, although the aim is to continue to encourage two-way crossover.

Caesars introduces Bragg to West Virginia

For Bragg, meanwhile, the expanded theScore deal is just one of several recent developments in North American online casino.

The company announced on Wednesday that it has extended its exclusive and bespoke online casino deal with Caesars Entertainment into a sixth U.S. state, West Virginia. Bragg was already operational in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Bragg works more closely with Caesars than it does with other operators. The two firms struck a deal in January that allows Caesars to not only use Bragg’s technology and products in the U.S. and Ontario but also to develop exclusive online casino games together. The companies have worked together on multiple exclusive games already, which are available through Caesars Palace Online Casino, Horseshoe Online Casino and Caesars Sportsbook & Casino.

Separately, Bragg has also recently integrated 7777 Gaming’s portfolio of more than 200 online slots, crash games and casino titles available into the single-integration Bragg Hub it provides to iGaming operators.

Bragg said in its release announcing the West Virginia launch that its proprietary online casino content grew 270% in U.S. gross gaming revenue in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in the previous year, while the overall U.S. iCasino market grew 31%.

“This expansion into a sixth U.S. state demonstrates the value our content brings to top-tier partners,” said Bragg Chief Commercial Officer Neill Whyte.

As well as its six U.S. states and Ontario, Bragg works in a second Canadian province via a partnership it formed with Loto-Québec in February. It has also performed strongly in Brazil since entering that market on day one of the country’s iGaming launch in January.

OLG seeking help from industry to boost AML capabilities

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is looking to amp up its anti-money laundering capabilities, and it’s hoping experts in the industry can help.

OLG has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for an AML solutions program that it intends to use to support compliance, risk management and regulatory reporting across its online and mobile sports betting, casino and lottery gaming, as well as its province-wide land-based gaming.

First reported by Gaming News Canada, the RFI outlines several key areas of focus that it is seeking information on, including things such as player identification, user AML risk assessments, transaction monitoring and alert generation, case and player profile management systems and user account management.

OLG Director of Media Relations Tony Bitonti told Canadian Gaming Business that, in essence, the RFI’s purpose is to ask vendors in the market what they can offer to help the governmental operator meet its needs.

OLG previously put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) in December 2022, looking to develop a new consolidated AML software system, but decided to go a different route after evaluating options and ultimately canceled the procurement process. Instead, it opened the RFI for contributions on Sept. 18 and could ultimately issue RFPs if it decides to pursue certain avenues after responses to the RFI.

“The new approach presented a better fit for OLG’s needs and strategy,” Bitonti said. “OLG maintains robust IT systems to support its AML program and continuously enhances its systems, taking advantage of new technologies and strategies that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its AML program.”

Off the beaten FINTRAC

Also specified in the RFI as an area that OLG wants help with is Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) reporting, an issue that has been on the mind of the Canadian gaming industry for some time.

Some stakeholders have spoken of burdensome logistical issues in meeting FINTRAC’s reporting requirements, particularly as Ontario’s iGaming market has scaled up since opening in April 2022. Authorized operators in Ontario must file suspicious transaction reports manually and upload them one at a time on a per-incident basis via the FINTRAC portal, although they do have the option to use their own in-house automation technology to speed up the process.

It was revealed earlier this year that Ontario’s licensed commercial online gaming operators couldn’t use FINTRAC’s web portal to file suspicious transaction reports for up to a year between March 2024 and March 2025 following a hacking incident.

iGaming Ontario (iGO), which manages OLG’s licensed iGaming competitors in the province, is building its own improved and automated system for FINTRAC filing, the agency confirmed to Canadian Gaming Business in May.

“Our aim is that this system will improve efficiency and speed while also remaining secure and reducing the administrative burden on operators,” iGO spokesperson Josh Elliott said at the time. “When complete, this system will allow iGaming Ontario to file reports to FINTRAC via secure data feed, much as other high-volume entities do.”

OLG’s attempts to ensure its AML capabilities and FINTRAC reporting are up to scratch come as the financial watchdog has fined numerous gaming agencies for alleged compliance or reporting violations in recent weeks, including OLG’s British Columbian counterpart BCLC and Saskatchewan First Nations operator SIGA.

Ex-theScore VP settles for $600K over insider trading before PENN takeover

A former vice president of theScore who shared insider trading information about the company’s takeover by PENN Entertainment in 2021 has settled with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) for around $600,000.

The OSC announced on Tuesday that ex-Score Media and Gaming VP of Finance Huy Le (Alvin) Huynh has agreed to pay a penalty of $325,000, disgorgement of $270,000 and $40,000 towards the cost of the OSC’s investigation as part of a settlement agreement. He has also been banned for seven years from trading securities or derivatives, subject to personal carve-outs, and from working as a director and officer at any company for the same length of time.

VP and wife involved CPA in scheme

Per an agreed statement of facts outlined in the settlement agreement, Huynh learned of PENN’s pending US$2 billion takeover of theScore in early July 2021, about a month before it was publicly disclosed. He shared the information with his wife before it was public, knowing that he was not permitted to do so.

He used his wife’s friend, a chartered professional accountant named Jessica Tam, as an intermediary, instructing her to buy 304 theScore call options for less than US$7,000 through her tax-free savings account in late July and early August 2021. On Aug. 6, the day after PENN’s takeover was announced publicly, Huynh told Tam to sell all 304 Score call options in Tam’s TFSA for US$318,800, more than 45 times the buy price. That resulted in trading profits of approximately US$311,000.

Huynh and Pham used coded messages to coordinate staggered payments with Tam in an attempt to avoid arousing suspicion, said the agreed statement of facts in the settlement document. They ultimately received $270,000 of the proceeds in cash.

Huynh admitted to insider trading and tipping in violation of the Securities Act, while Pham admitted to conduct contrary to the public interest. Both spouses cooperated with the OSC investigation. In addition to Huynh’s punishment, Pham agreed to pay $10,000 towards the cost of OSC’s investigation and is banned from trading securities or derivatives or working as a director or officer for three years, with certain exemptions. There were no allegations against Tam.

“This settlement reinforces the critical importance of upholding market integrity,” said OSC EVP of Enforcement Bonnie Lysyk. “Insider trading undermines investor confidence and the fairness of our capital markets. This case sends a clear message that those who misuse confidential information for personal gain will be held accountable.”

PENN keeping Score

PENN completed its acquisition of Toronto-based legacy sports media brand theScore from founder John Levy and his family in October 2021. It withdrew the company’s betting app, theScore Bet, from the U.S. in July 2022 to focus it on the then-new Ontario market, and has retained it as its sole Canadian-facing online sports betting and online casino brand. This summer, PENN cut back theScore’s sports content newsroom that had grown over the years, eliminating more than 75 positions.

PENN CEO CEO Jay Snowden said earlier this year that Ontario is PENN Interactive’s number-one North American market in terms of revenues, gross profit and contribution margin. He suggested last year that theScore Bet has a double-digit market share in a province with 50 licensed commercial iGaming operators.