NetEnt’s Presence in Canada Market Keeps Decreasing; Company Withdraws from Three Online Casinos

NetEnt announced that its games will no longer be offered at 3 Canadian casinos.

Canadian regulations concerning online casino gaming are often quoted as problematic. Officially, each province has its own regulations concerning online gambling, and some are as seen as more restrictive, whereas other provinces are a bit more liberal. Quebec is often quoted as one of the most restrictive Canadian provinces when it comes to online gambling rules and many suspect that the provincial government wants to protect its monopoly.

Not the First Time NetEnt Stops Providing Games to Canadian Casinos

But it is not just Quebec, Canada as a whole is seen as a bit problematic by some operators and software providers. Recently it has been announced that NetEnt will no longer be offering its services to three online casinos that are popular in Canada – Rizk Casino, Betspin and Guts Casino. Gaming Innovation Group is the owner of all three casinos. Canadian players will still be allowed to visit these casinos and play games offered by other providers, but not NetEnt games and NetEnt related promotions.

Previously, towards the end of 2014, just before Christmas, it was announced that NetEnt will stop supplying popular VeraJohn Casino after it was acquired by Canadian company Intertain. Moreover, about a month ago it was announced that one of the largest betting and gambling operators William Hill will be no longer offering services to citizens of British Columbia. The company stated legal reasons that were beyond their control when they informed the public of their decision.

Many Operators Have Already Withdrawn Themselves from the Market

William Hill is just one of the many major operators that decided to leave Canada. In October 2014 Ladbrokes, one of the William Hill’s most fierce rivals on the British market, announced that it will stop accepting deposits from Canadian players. Players had a deadline of one month to withdraw all funds from their accounts. Ladbrokes also stated Canadian online gambling legislation as the reason for their decision. 3 years ago, in June 2013, Betfred, another popular UK casino and betting operator announced that it will no longer be offering its services on the Canadian market.

Betfair announced its decision to leave Canada to its customers via email right before Christmas 2015. By mid-January this year the company stopped offering its services to Canadians, regardless of which province they live in. It was even announced that those who have registered as Canadian citizens will not be able to access the website even if they try to log in when they are not actually in Canada. Betfair didn’t provide a public statement in order to explain the decision, but for many it was obvious that this is probably due to the fact that the company announced it’ll merge with Paddy Power.

Paddy Power was the first major operator to announce that it’ll stop offering betting and gambling services to Canadian citizens. In the beginning of 2011, many Canadian players that had a Paddy Power account received emails in which it was stated that the company will no longer be accepting deposits coming from Canadian credit cards. That was the beginning of this negative trend and further exits from the Canadian market can be expected in the future.