AGCO issues $350,000 penalty to FanDuel for betting integrity failures

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has issued a $350,000 penalty to FanDuel Canada for failing to identify unusual and suspicious betting activity on the Czech Table Tennis Star Series from October 23 to November 30, 2024. 

“Following an in-depth review, the AGCO determined that between October 23rd to November 30th, 2024, FanDuel accepted 144 bets from three Ontario player accounts on Czech Table Tennis Star Series matches that displayed multiple indicators associated with match-fixing,” the AGCO said in its release. 

“The AGCO’s review concluded that, despite these warning signs, FanDuel failed to meet its obligations to identify the unusual and suspicious activity, respond to those activities and report them. As a result, betting on the affected events was permitted to continue uninterrupted for several weeks.”

The regulator found “numerous red flags” which should have required action on FanDuel’s part, including “abrupt shifts” in wagering activity, a concentration of bets on players who lost, an “implausible and near-perfect” win-rate and synchronized wagering across each account. 

According to the AGCO, the activity occurred despite prior warnings having been issued to operators in relation to the specific table tennis series. 

AGCO CEO and Registrar Dr. Karin Schnarr addressed the penalty, having said, “In an era of heightened scrutiny on sports integrity, iGaming operators must be vigilant and proactive in detecting suspicious betting activity and taking appropriate steps to protect their patrons.

“We will continue to hold all regulated operators accountable to these standards. Protecting fair play is essential to maintaining public trust.”

If any operator conducting business in Ontario were to discover suspicious betting activity, the entities are therefore required to report it to independent integrity monitors. 

The monitors then share such information with fellow operators and the sporting leagues themselves to investigate potential integrity breaches. 

FanDuel will have 15 days to appeal the Order of Monetary Penalty to the License Appeal Tribunal, an adjudicative body independent from the AGCO and part of Tribunals Ontario.