AGCO Imposes Ban on WBA Betting in Ontario Due to Integrity Worries

Established on February 23, 1998, The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has assumed responsibility for regulating all gaming activity at Ontario online casino sites. Recently, the commission placed a ban on all World Boxing Association (WBA) events betting due to concerns over integrity. The registrars at the AGCO have taken this precautionary measure after conducting an intense review of the WBA-sanctioned title fight between Livan Navarro and Yoenis Tellez.

Reports of suspicious betting patterns during the fight, which lasted over 5.5 rounds, were presented by two independent integrity monitors and detected within the province by a licensed iGaming operator. These claims, substantiated by media reports on iGaming news at CasinoRIX, also alleged that Tellez’s Manager had placed $110,000 on the match, which ended when Tellez knocked out his opponent in the 10th round. With growing concerns over the absence of safeguards against insider betting and match-fixing, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has concluded that wagering on WBA events fails to meet the standards for online gaming.

The AGCO did not come to this decision lightly, as it had initially reached out to the WBA, iGaming Ontario operators, integrity monitors, and some regulators in other jurisdictions. Registered gaming operators in Ontario failed to prove that the WBA prohibits insider betting, nor could they show that action was taken to investigate the allegations. This remains unacceptable to the AGCO, whose regulatory framework requires that all registered operators offer betting products on events supervised by an official sports governing body.

This will not be the first time the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has taken such drastic measures. In December 2022, gaming operators received a ban from offering bets on UFC events for similar issues related to insider betting. The commission insists that at the very least, sports governing bodies must implement codes of conduct that prevent match-fixing and insider betting. Following the review, the AGCO has stated that operators must demonstrate that the WBA effectively oversees its events for betting to get reinstated. For additional resources on iGaming Ontario standards, get more at AGCO today.