Ladbrokes Exits Canadian Market
On Tuesday this week, it became clear that Ladbrokes would no longer be offering its bookie services in Canada. At this time, there has been a veil of silence as to exactly why Ladbrokes has exited the Canadian market. Ladbrokes is not the first betting exchange to have exited the Canadian market, it is simply another big name in the gaming world following on from Betfred in June, and Matchbook in July. The payment processor, Skrill, that is well known for handing online gambling transactions, announced in January that the company would no longer be handing any gambling transactions for those customers who are based in Canada.
Ladbrokes Announces Hasty Exit from Canadian Market
Ladbrokes has not given its customers much time to get their affairs into order since the company plans to exit the Canadian market by October 1st, 2014. Players received emails informing them that by October 1st, they would no longer be able to perform transactions such as registering, wagering, or depositing funds to their Ladbrokes accounts. After this time, customers have been given a grace period of 30 days in which they can withdraw their funds. It was, however, made clear that players holding Canadian accounts with Ladbrokes would forfeit "any bonus funds and pending winnings" that are still connected to the accounts on October 1st.
Possible Link to New UK Gambling Laws
A spokesperson from Ladbrokes said: "We regularly review our ability to offer gambling facilities in different countries throughout the world."
While Ladbrokes did not make a clear statement as to the reason for the move, it is suspected that there is a connection to the United Kingdom's October 1st deadline by which gambling companies who wish to be re-licensed in the UK need to comply with a number of strict conditions.
The UK Gambling Commission has imposed new licensing laws on all those who wish to hold licenses in the United Kingdom. Included in these laws, those gambling companies that operate in areas that are considered to be grey or black market jurisdictions need to offer legal justification as to why they are operating in those areas if the company has earned 3% or more of its total revenue from operating in that area.
While Ladbrokes was not the main online bookmaker operating in the Canadian market, it is possible that with the company's struggles with its online operations, the Canadian share of the company's market may have been significant.
While gambling through the various provincial lottery corporations in Canada is regulated and legalised, it is certainly a grey area that allows those gambling companies that are not based on Canadian soil to offer their operations inside Canada.
