Poker Writer
Global Poker, one of the sweepstakes brands owned by VGW Holdings, announced it will exit Canada by Oct. 23. Play will stop on Sept. 25, and users can’t redeem sweeps coins past Oct. 23. The first step of the exit occurs Aug. 28, when players can no longer fund their accounts.
The Canadian pullout extends to VGW Holdings’ Chumba Casino as well.
A spokesperson for VGW said the move out of Canada was a “strategic, isolated” decision.
One player on Reddit shared the message sent to each user that broke the announcement:
We are reaching out to let you know about an upcoming change to our terms and conditions. As of October 23, players who reside in Canada will no longer be able to access to Global Poker.
We understand this is an adjustment after many years and our valued Canadian players may be disappointed. The decision was not taken lightly and our focus is on ensuring players are fully informed about the changes.
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Players Resentful Of Global Poker Exit
The comments and reactions to the news affirmed that people aren’t happy about losing access to Global Poker. One responder wrote:
Need to stop calling it Global Poker you really can’t play outside of the U.S.
The discussion moved to alternate poker options once Global Poker leaves the country. One user suggested Global will not be missed as there are many other operators present in Canada.
VGW Holdings said it wishes to refocus on the U.S. market, which makes up the bulk of the user base.
Recent developments in certain U.S. states haven’t been favorable, though. New Jersey and California have moved to ban sweepstakes poker, the former actually doing so and the latter still wrestling over the possibility. The recent sweepstakes ban in New York has represented perhaps the hardest hit.
Will more legal scrutiny follow? VGW Holdings has already had to alter operations in nine states.
Sweepstakes poker has faced no such legality issues in Canada to this point. But VGW has nonetheless decided it’s time to end operations there, much to the chagrin of local users.
