AGCO Requires Operators to Stop Accepting Bets on WBA Events

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has made a bold move by requiring all registered gaming operators offering sports betting to cease accepting wagers on World Boxing Association (WBA) events. This decision comes after concerns were raised about the lack of adequate safeguards in place to prevent match fixing and insider betting within WBA-sanctioned boxing matches.

The AGCO’s decision was prompted by suspicious wagering activity surrounding a December title fight in Florida between Yoenis Tellez and Livan Navarro. Two independent integrity monitors and an Ontario registered iGaming operator detected “suspicious betting patterns,” with reports alleging that Tellez’s manager placed a $110,000 bet on the match lasting longer than 5 1/2 rounds.

Following its review, the AGCO concluded that WBA events do not currently meet the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming. However, the WBA could be reinstated if AGCO-regulated operators can demonstrate that the organization effectively supervises its events.

This move by the AGCO follows a similar action taken in December 2022, when operators were required to stop offering bets on Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events due to insider betting concerns. The UFC implemented new protocols in response, leading to the reinstatement of betting in the province.

Registrar and CEO Karin Schnarr emphasized the importance of ensuring fair and transparent betting practices in Ontario’s regulated gaming market. She expressed a willingness to work with the WBA, Ontario operators, and integrity monitors to potentially reinstate WBA events in the future.

In a separate development, the NBA recently announced a lifetime ban for former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter due to gambling allegations. The league found that Porter violated its rules by disclosing confidential information to bettors, limiting his own participation in games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games.

While the AGCO has not taken the same action with the NBA as it has with the WBA, Schnarr stressed the importance of sport governing bodies enforcing codes of conduct that prohibit insider betting. She commended the NBA for promptly addressing the issue and urged other organizations, like the WBA, to take similar measures to uphold game integrity.

Overall, the AGCO’s decision underscores the importance of maintaining transparency and fairness in sports betting, ensuring that bettors can have confidence in the integrity of the games they wager on.