Ladbrokes no longer accepting Canadian players

If you’re a registered player at Ladbrokes online casino or sportsbook and you live in Canada, you’ve probably received email notification already that you’re account is to be closed.

The legal eagles at Ladbrokes have made the decision to pull out of the Canadian market . The decision was made public yesterday.

Effective immediately, Canadian residents will no longer be able to open an account at Ladbrokes. Existing Canadian customers will no longer be able to deposit and/or place any bets and will have 30 days to withdraw funds from their account and find somewhere else to play.

The official line on the closure is something suitably vague…after a review of Canadian gaming regulations Ladbrokes have decided its operations there were no longer viable. A spokesperson from Ladbrokes has told the media that the company’s Canadian operations represented less than 0.5% of its business and that,

“There are a lot of markets that are a grey area on a legal basis“

Canada has moved from light grey to dark grey in Ladbokes eyes.

It’s likely the decision has less to do with any change in the Canadian gambling regulations, and more to do with soon to be implemented new regulations in the UK.

The old industry mantra:

If its grey it’s OK!

seems to have become:

If its grey, what will the UK Gambling Commission say?

Ladbrokes aren’t the first, and won’t be the last operator to clean house on their accepted jurisdictions policy as the new UK regulations take effect.

For Canadians looking for a new place to lay their chips, check our Canadian live casinos page.