Online gambling operators offer their services in a variety of countries to be able to reach a wider audience. This not only increases the traffic numbers but also their revenues. With most top brands, the online casino operators will offer services in the United Kingdom, Asia, Australia, Canada, etc. The major countries offer a wide range of gamers who will be able to enjoy a variety of online casino games.
Betfair is one such brand who offers their services in several countries. Unfortunately, gamers who did have established accounts with the brand in one country will not be able to enjoy the services any longer. Betfair recently announced that players in Canada can no longer access the gaming services as of January 14th.
The online gambling brand did not make an announcement online or in print, they simply sent an email to alert players in Canada that their services would no longer be offered. In the email, it read:
We are sorry to inform you that as of 14th January 2016, Betfair’s products will no longer be available to residents of Canada. As of the 14th date, the residents in Canada will not be able to place wagers via Betfair and the website will be shut down. Any outstanding sports book wagers will be cancelled. Players will not be able to place new exchange bets and any gaming products will be blocked.
Any outstanding Exchange bets that are in place before the 14th will remove in place. Players will need to manage their positions that are open in advance to the date. Any funds at the Canada-facing site will need to be removed as of the 14th of January. Players who do not withdraw their funds from the site by this date will have to contact the help desk to be able to remove any funds.
Betfair has not released any information as of yet as to why they are shutting down services in Canada. Many believe that the reason behind the closure is that fact that Betfair is transitions to a partnership with Paddy Power. The Paddy Power group has not operated in Canada for many years now, having shut down operations in 2011.
It could be that Betfair is aligning their list of countries they service to be the same as the list of Paddy Power. As the companies combine, they will want to be on the same page as far as operations go. The online gambling industry of Canada is also touch and go with legislation having been introduced that could have hurt the operations of the company in the future.
Betfair also did not have a very strong presence in Canada. Sometimes an operator will choose to leave a country due to the fact that they do not have strong traffic numbers in that particular area. It can be more beneficial to leave the area and focus efforts on other countries. Betfair actually stopped marketing to Canada in 2013, not offering any new advertising to bring in players.
Despite stopping advertising efforts, Betfair did still allow new signups at the site. At the same time in 2013, the company pulled out of around 10 gray market countries or stopped marketing efforts just as they did in Canada.
While the stoppage of service seems abrupt, some factors seem to show that Betfair was considering leaving the country for some time. When the 14th arrives, we may see Betfair releasing information on why they are leaving the country, only time will tell, so Canadians will just have to wait and see if the company decides to share the reasoning behind their decision.
