The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has ordered DraftKings to pay a CA$100,000 penalty for breaking the regulator’s rules regarding gambling advertisements and inducements.
The AGCO found that between its launch in the market on 19 May and 31 May, the business “posted or aired multiple broad gambling inducements”. This included advertisements of boosted odds.
This is in violation of the provincial standards for sports betting, which say that inducement, bonuses and credits may only be advertised on operators’ websites or via direct marketing.
“The standards were put in place to protect Ontarians,” the AGCO said.
The operator has a right to appeal the decision to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), a body which is part of Tribunals Ontario.
The penalty is the third regulatory action related to advertising that the AGCO has taken since the market opened on 4 April. Last month, BetMGM and PointsBet received penalties of CA$48,000 and CA$30,000, respectively for inducement breaches of their own.
“The AGCO will continue to monitor the activities of all registered operators and hold them to high standards of responsible gambling, player protection and game integrity,” AGCO chief executive and registrar Tom Mungham said. “It is in the public interest that we ensure they are meeting their obligations under Ontario’s Gaming Control Act and the Standards.”
