AGCO penalizes Betty Gaming Ltd. $120,000 after underage individuals created and funded online gambling accounts

TORONTO, Aug. 6, 2026 /CNW/ -- The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has ordered monetary penalties totaling $120,000 against Betty Gaming Ltd. ("Betty Gaming") after failures in its age-verification and player eligibility controls allowed underage individuals to create online gambling accounts and, in several cases, deposit money and gamble on Betty.ca.

In November 2025, the AGCO was notified that Betty Gaming had identified a vulnerability in Betty.ca's age-restriction and player-eligibility controls. The defect allowed 9 individuals under the age of 19 to create accounts, deposit funds, and gamble on the site. An additional 14 underage individuals were able to create accounts but did not deposit funds.

Ontario's gaming standards require operators to have effective safeguards to prevent underage access, and to validate player eligibility before accounts are created. These obligations are central to protecting young people and maintaining confidence in Ontario's regulated gaming market.

An operator served with an Order of Monetary Penalty has the right to appeal the Registrar's action within 15 days to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), an adjudicative body that is part of Tribunals Ontario and independent of the AGCO.

Quote

"The legal age requirement is one of the most basic and important safeguards in Ontario's regulated gaming market. Young people must not be able to create accounts, deposit money, or gamble online. Registered operators are responsible for making sure their systems work before those systems go live. When those responsibilities are not met, we will take action to protect young people and uphold confidence in Ontario's regulated market."

– Dr. Karin Schnarr, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar, AGCO

Additional Information

Contrary to section 3.01, requirement 1(a) of the Registrar's Standards for Gaming: Operators must not permit underage individuals to create accounts, log in or gamblee online. In Ontario, individuals generally must be 19 or older to gamble online, except for lottery tickets, which may be purchased online by individuals who are at least 18.

Contrary to section 3.04 of the Registrar's Standards for Gaming: Relevant player information shall be collected and saved upon registration and shall be demonstrated to be complete, accurate and validated before a player account is created for the player.

About the AGCO

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) is a provincial regulatory agency that oversees the alcohol, cannabis, gaming and horse racing sectors in Ontario. The AGCO is committed to protecting the public interest through a modern, risk-based regulatory framework that emphasizes compliance, integrity and public safety.

SOURCE Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario

Media contact: AGCO Media Relations, [email protected]