GME3: Prop and Circumstance, Trial by Timeline & Promptly Infringing

In this week’s GME3, Ontario’s gambling regulator is moving to temporarily suspend PointsBet Canada’s iGaming registration, saying the operator missed and failed to report suspicious wagering tied to the Jontay Porter betting scandal. In the U.S., Meta is in court as plaintiffs argue Instagram and other platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive for young users, with Mark Zuckerberg testifying about what the company knew and when. And in entertainment news, ByteDance is catching heat from Hollywood and performers’ groups over its new AI video generator, with critics warning it could supercharge copyright infringement and unauthorized use of actors’ likenesses. Read the full stories below!

Gambling

Prop and Circumstance

Ontario’s gambling regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (“AGCO”), is moving to temporarily suspend PointsBet Canada in a first for the province’s regulated iGaming market. The AGCO issued a Notice of Proposed Order seeking a five-day suspension of PointsBet Canada’s iGaming registration, alleging a “systemic failure” to detect and report suspicious wagering tied to the 2024 betting scandal involving former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter.

Porter was banned for life by the NBA in April 2024 after investigators found he shared insider information about his health and manipulated his play so player-prop bets would cash. In July 2024, he pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admitting he withdrew early from games to help co-conspirators win “under” bets. Suspicious betting patterns were flagged in early 2024, and the International Betting Integrity Association reported the matter to the FBI, prompting a U.S. investigation. The AGCO also investigated through the Ontario Provincial Police Investigation and Enforcement Bureau and said there was justification for a criminal probe.

The AGCO says it directed all Ontario sportsbooks to confirm whether they offered Porter bets and reported suspicious activity. It alleges PointsBet initially said it had not offered such bets, but later – after the U.S. indictment was unsealed in October 2025 – confirmed it had, and that wagering data showed suspicious activity that should have been detected and reported at the time. PointsBet disputes the proposed sanction as disproportionate, attributing its earlier response to human error during an organizational transition, and says it is reviewing options, including an appeal to the Licence Appeal Tribunal. An AGCO spokesperson said nothing takes effect while PointsBet’s appeal window remains open.

Media

Trial by Timeline

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying in a major Los Angeles trial that argues social media companies intentionally designed their platforms to be addictive, particularly for young users. Plaintiffs’ lawyers plan to press Zuckerberg on what he knew about potential harms to youth mental health, pointing to internal documents they say show the company understood the risks. 

The first trial centers on a 20-year-old plaintiff known as KGM, who alleges that compulsive use of YouTube and Instagram worsened her depression and suicidal thoughts. It’s one of roughly 20 “bellwether” cases meant to test how juries respond; TikTok and Snap settled this initial trial but still face many other lawsuits. Zuckerberg’s appearance follows testimony from Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who downplayed the idea of clinical “social media addiction,” calling heavy youth use more akin to “problematic” overconsumption.

Meta’s lawyers argue KGM had serious underlying mental health challenges and dispute that Instagram significantly worsened them. The story also ties the trial to broader child-safety scrutiny, including Zuckerberg’s 2024 apology before the United States Senate, a separate consumer-protection case in New Mexico, criticism of Meta’s safety tools by Fairplay, and allegations from former employee Kelly Stonelake that the company dismissed internal child-safety warnings.

Entertainment

Promptly Infringing

ByteDance – the company behind TikTok – is facing sharp backlash from Hollywood groups over a new AI video generator called Seedance 2.0. The Beijing-based company says the tool (currently available only in China) can produce high-quality videos from simple text prompts, but film and TV industry organizations argue it enables widespread copyright infringement and unauthorized use of performers’ likenesses.

The Motion Picture Association (”MPA”) condemned Seedance 2.0 for allegedly using U.S. copyrighted works “on a massive scale” without permission and criticized ByteDance for launching without “meaningful safeguards” against infringement. MPA chair and CEO Charles Rivkin called on ByteDance to stop the allegedly infringing activity.

The controversy spread quickly online after screenwriter Rhett Reese (credited in the Deadpool films) reacted to a post on X featuring a Seedance-generated clip shared by director Ruairí Robinson, depicting AI versions of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting in a post-apocalyptic setting.

The performers’ union SAG-AFTRA also denounced the tool, alleging it facilitates unauthorized use of members’ voices and likenesses and undermines consent and livelihoods. ByteDance responded that it respects intellectual property and says it is strengthening safeguards to prevent users from misusing copyrighted material or likenesses.