TORONTO, June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has issued a $54,000 monetary penalty alleging Well Played Media, Unipessoal LDA promoted a deceptive bonus on its Casino Days website. The bonus offer is alleged to have encouraged high-risk behaviour and failed to properly disclose key terms.
The AGCO launched an investigation triggered by a player who complained that more than $8,500 in winnings had been confiscated by Casino Days. The investigation reviewed a so-called “welcome bonus” that promised new players up to $2,000.
However, to qualify for the full bonus amount, players had to:
Deposit $2,000 of their own money;
Wager $70,000 (35 times the deposit);
Keep each wager at or under $5; and
Complete all wagering requirements within 7 days.
Investigators also found that certain terms of the bonus offer were difficult to find, buried behind multiple links on the site.
AGCO’s analysis showed that the average player would first lose $3,640 trying to earn the $2,000 bonus.
According to Ontario’s igaming rules, registered operators must not offer bonus promotions that encourage harmful gambling behaviour and fail to disclose key conditions appropriately. Further, operators are not permitted to entice players with bonuses that cannot reasonably be attained without significant gambling losses.
These rules are in place to protect players and support a safe, regulated market—one that stands in contrast to the risks of unregulated gambling sites.
An igaming operator served with an Order of Monetary Penalty by the AGCO Registrar has the right to appeal the Registrar’s decision to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), an adjudicative tribunal that is part of Tribunals Ontario and independent of the AGCO.
Quote:
“Player protection is a non-negotiable priority for the AGCO. We expect operators to be truthful and transparent about their promotions, and we also require them to ensure that those promotions do not encourage reckless or harmful patterns of play. An offer that requires a player to sustain substantial losses for a perceived benefit is not a fair offer. This penalty sends a clear signal that we will not hesitate to take action against operators who fail to meet their obligations to protect Ontario players.”
– Dr. Karin Schnarr, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar, AGCO
Additional Information:
Standard 2.04(7) requires that materials and communications not portray, suggest, condone or encourage gaming behaviour that is socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm.
Standard 2.04(15) prohibits regulated igaming operators from offering products or promotions that are not reasonably attainable without incurring substantial losses.
Standard 2.06(1) requires that all material conditions of a gambling inducement be disclosed at its first presentation, with all other conditions and limitations available within a single click.
