Coolbet Leaving Ontario in April, Other Operators In Crowded Market May Follow

The legal Ontario online casino and sports betting industry will celebrate its one-year anniversary on April 4, but one notable operator won’t be there for the party.

Coolbet will be leaving the Ontario online gaming market in early April.

The company, based in Estonia, will still be available outside of Ontario in Canada’s sports betting grey market. However, the operator has no plans to enter the US sports betting market.

With Coolbet’s exit in an already crowded market, could more operators also choose to make their way out of Ontario?

What Coolbet’s exit means for players

The Coolbet online sportsbook and online casino turned off all deposit options on March 21 before closing its gaming operations on March 22. Bets with unknown outcomes will be voided and refunded.

“We strongly encourage you to withdraw your funds as soon as possible,” the operator said in a blog post. “In case you have not made any withdrawals before, we would require you to verify your bank account that will be used to pay out your remaining balance. Once you have requested the withdrawal please check your email for further instructions on how to complete the verification.”

The sportsbook is also waving play-through requirements for bonus funds, allowing customers to withdraw remaining bonuses as cash. The website and mobile app will shut down on April 3, when its registration with iGaming Ontario expires.

Amanda Brewer is the Canada country manager for Kindred Group that operates Unibet in Ontario. She spoke on the Gaming News Canada podcast about what Coolbet leaving the Ontario market could mean for other operators.

“There are a lot of costs that come with being in this market,” said Brewer. “And if you are a smaller operator, if you are an operator who didn’t have any grand market presence ahead of time, if you’re an operator that didn’t come in equipped to manage all of this then I think it’s going to be unfortunate, but Coolbet is probably not going to be the first operator we see exit.”

Will more sports betting sites leave Ontario?

Coolbet was among the first wave of operators to launch in Ontario in April 2022. At that time, there were 17 mobile apps or websites available. However, the market being that small in size didn’t last long.

With Coolbet’s departure, there are over 46 live gaming operators running some 70 gaming sites.

Ontario’s ultra-competitive market

Ontario’s sports betting and online casino market is the only one of its kind in Canada. However, the competitiveness of Ontario’s online gambling market could mean that Coolbet’s exit from Ontario is just one of several.

Mansion Group, a Gibraltar-based company with two casinos licensed in Ontario under the ‘casino.com’ and ‘mansioncasino.com’ brands, is seemingly planning to leave the province at the end of this month. Mansion has made no formal announcements about leaving Ontario. But one customer who tried to deposit funds at ‘casino.com’ was sent a letter telling them not to because the company will be ceasing operations at month’s end.

There are signs of a trend building. Some smaller operators in the province may be feeling a financial pinch. Operators must pay about a fifth of their revenue, along with a $100,000 annual regulatory fee for each site. Those and other costs can add up, especially for smaller operators.

List of Ontario live gaming operators: