{"id":411,"date":"2026-10-01T21:56:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T21:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/powercraft.site\/coolbet-to-exit-ontario-after-just-one-year-of-operations\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T21:56:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T21:56:22","slug":"coolbet-to-exit-ontario-after-just-one-year-of-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skillraid.site\/?p=411","title":{"rendered":"Coolbet to exit Ontario after just one year of operations"},"content":{"rendered":"
Estonia-headquartered bookmaker Coolbet is set to exit Ontario\u2019s regulated sports betting and iGaming market as of 3 April.<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Coolbet was among the first set of operators to launch in Ontario\u2019s regulated online gambling market in April last year, after being acquired by B2B iGaming supplier GAN between 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n

GAN said at the time of the acquisition that the deal would help position the business as a full-service B2B supplier for real-money gambling in North America, and a vertically integrated B2C competitor in selected international markets.<\/p>\n

What happens next?<\/h2>\n

Now, Coolbet has instructed its Ontarian customers to withdraw funds from their accounts ahead of its planned closure in the market from 3 April.<\/p>\n

It has become one of the first operators to withdraw from the market.<\/p>\n

As of tomorrow (21 March), the operator will no longer accept deposits from the province, while its online casino and sportsbook will be closed by the end of Wednesday 22 March.<\/p>\n

Any bets that cannot be settled because their outcomes remain unknown at that point will be voided and refunded.<\/p>\n

Bonus funds, meanwhile, will be \u201cfully unlocked from wagering requirements\u201d on 23 March, according to a blog post on Coolbet\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

By 3 April, Coolbet\u2019s website and mobile app in Ontario will be disabled, although customers will still be able to contact customer support with any queries.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Coolbet is directing customers to play with Wildz, a customer-facing brand operated by Malta-based iGaming platform supplier Rootz.<\/p>\n

Wildz has been licensed in the Ontario market since January this year.<\/p>\n

What went wrong for Coolbet?<\/h2>\n

Speaking last week on the Gaming News Canada podcast, former head of North America for Coolbet, Kris Abbott (now country manager for Canada at Kaizen Gaming), offered his two cents on what went wrong for the brand in Ontario.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of operating here hit them hard a bit because their model is built on slow, steady growth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a business perspective, their strategy was low-vig sports betting, which in this market is dangerous, and they never had big marketing budgets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the brand had been able to carve itself out a strong niche in the market and was highly regarded by its regular users.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was proud of what we were able to do at the time and after I left, I saw some really cool stuff that they were doing this year, knowing that they only had a fraction of the money to work with that some other operators do,\u201d Abbott continued.<\/p>\n

RIP coolbet in Ontario pic.twitter.com\/eY264rjwOi<\/p>\n

\u2014 Plus EV Analytics (@PlusEVAnalytics) March 16, 2023<\/p>\n

However, Coolbet faced difficulties not only because of external market conditions, but also because of its internal structure under GAN\u2019s ownership, Abbott suggested.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen [GAN] did the acquisition in late 2020, the stock price was at $27. Today, it\u2019s under $1.40,\u201d he pointed out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen those things start happening, and shareholders get restless, I feel like you start managing quarter to quarter, and that\u2019s really tough to do in our industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe product itself, there\u2019s nothing wrong with it. In fact, I think casino-wise they have one of the best. I think there\u2019s other factors at play for why they made this decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coolbet\u2019s withdrawal from the market \u2013 placing it among the first licensed operators in Ontario to pull out \u2013 may indicate tougher market conditions than originally anticipated by many operators.<\/p>\n

Abbott suggested: \u201cI think a lot of operators clearly thought that Ontario was going to be a land of milk and honey, and it\u2019s a challenging market largely because of the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there will be plenty of companies in the market that reevaluate their stance,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

More trouble for GAN<\/h2>\n

Coolbet\u2019s Nasdaq-listed owner GAN has struggled on the public markets in the past two years.<\/p>\n

s in the business are trading down 76% over the past year, selling for as little as $1.32 at the time of writing. That is a far cry from the firm\u2019s all-time high share price of over $30, recorded in 2021.<\/p>\n

GAN\u2019s latest published financial results, covering Q3 2022, showed a net loss of $6.9m during the quarter amid a $1.7m (7.9%) year-on-year reduction in group B2C revenue.<\/p>\n

The business said it had grown its number of active customers by 31% year-on-year during the same period, but that the growth was driven primarily by an increase in customer numbers in Latin American markets.<\/p>\n

[stock_market_widget type=\u201dinline\u201d template=\u201dgeneric\u201d assets=\u201dGAN\u201d markup=\u201d{name} ({symbol}) is trading at {price} ({change_pct})\u201d display_currency_symbol=\u201dtrue\u201d api=\u201dyf\u201d]<\/p>\n

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