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What Happens When an Online Casino Shuts Down?

What Happens When an Online Casino Shuts Down?

There are hundreds of online casinos that accept players located in Canada. With that comes many that the online casino Canada community should avoid. Many of these sites are still up and running despite horrid reviews from players and experts alike. But some have thankfully disappeared and show no signs of returning. However, in some instances, they’re shut down for other reasons. Here are the nuts and bolts.

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Bankruptcy

Like with any business, an online casino can go broke for several reasons. If you don’t have any players or players who consistently make deposits, it’s impossible to stay open. If you started with that large initial investment that’s required for creating a licensed, popular, and customer supported gaming site, a lack of turnaround and high initial overhead can logically cause a shutdown and bankruptcy. This can be because of poor management, lackluster marketing methods, or, ironically in this business, good old-fashioned bad luck.

Merger

In this instance, the players are normally unaffected, or if they were affected, it would be because their money is simply refunded. They are not able to continue playing at that casino but have to take their money to the new, larger casino. This will often come in the form of two brands merging into one. For (a fictional) example, a casino called Palace Fortune Slots could merge with Castle Fun Casino to become Castle Fortune. The existing players will either be grandfathered in or have the option to have their money refunded.

Rebranding

This is always a bit of a red flag, but it’s not impossible for a casino to simply rebrand in order to start fresh for no other reason than to avoid bankruptcy. This would involve changing their name and their look and feel, as well as (hopefully) adding new promotions and games to better appeal to players this time around. With that being said, there is a decent chance that they could be rebranding due to their previous brand name being accused of not paying out, fraud, and other factors. It is essential to look into a casino before joining. If you can’t find anything about it online, stay away.

Fraud, Spam, or “Rogue”

While expert review sites, player forums, and websites specifically geared toward listing spam, fraudulent, blacklisted, and rogue online casinos battle to spread the word that players should avoid these sites. Somehow they still manage to attract some unsuspecting players. Nonetheless, these efforts are often successful, wherein the casino will be forced to shut down by law enforcement. Or just closing down because they’ve scammed enough players and reached their goal before they were caught. Rogue casinos are dangerous not just because they’ll keep your money, but also they’ll have your personal information too. They’re bad people, and that’s the last thing you want them to have.

Governmental Shutdown

When an online casino crosses the line of a certain regulation, they might be shut down in that regulation while staying open in other. Examples include advertising specifically to players of that region, which is often a no-no. Changes in the laws of that specific country, which is commonplace in Canada. General player complaints and excuses that violate the jurisdiction’s laws and regulations. Hopefully, if your preferred brand makes that mistake, they’ll refund your money. This is why you should always go with one of the best of the best so you know that they don’t make mistakes.

Change In Licensing

Casino licenses are expensive, and their prices are changing all the time no matter where the online casino is licensed. Once an operator’s contract is up, there could be issues that arise that can’t be worked out in terms of pricing and regulations. This could mean that the casino would shut down in Canada or other countries. In this scenario, your money will be refunded if you’re with a reputable casino. And their parent company might have other trusted brands that were not shut down.