VGW Pulls Chumba Casino & Global Poker from Canadian Market

VGW Announces Canada Exit for Chumba, Global Poker

Canadian Players at Chumba Casino and Global Poker are about to see their luck run out.

The largest online casino operator in North America, VGW (Virtual Gaming Worlds), has announced that their two brands that currently accept Canadian players will no longer do so in the coming weeks.

VGW was one of very few sweepstakes casino operators that allowed players from Canada, so this exit will surely be a blow to Canadian players that love sweepstakes casino games.

When is Chumba Casino Leaving Canada?

Canadian players at Chumba Casino were sent an e-mail to let them know that access to their platform from Canada will be completely shut off as of October 23rd. In the meantime, players will face a phase out of functionality on the platform. Both sweepstakes play and gold coin play will be eliminated for Canadian players.

In just a few days, on August 28th, Canadian players at Chumba Casino will no longer be permitted to purchase gold coin packages on the platform. However, there will be a window of time for players to use any remaining gold coins or sweeps coins they have in their accounts.

Four weeks later on September 25th, all gameplay from Canada will cease. Players in Canada will still be able to cash out any redeemable sweeps coins they have in their account.

In another four weeks on October 23rd, all access to the Chumba Casino platform from Canada will be shut off.

So if you have any sweeps coins in your account, make sure you play them and cash out any winnings without delay.

We haven't seen the official timeline for the shutdown of Global Poker access in Canada, but it is likely that it will follow the same, or a very similar, timeline as the Chumba Casino winddown.

Why Is Chumba Casino Exiting the Canadian Market?

According to a source at VGW, the Canadian shutdown was primarily a strategic move, as the parent company just didn't feel like their smaller Canadian operations were worth the effort.

Oddly enough, Canada was one of the few places where VGW wasn't receiving any friction for their operations. With the exception of Quebec, sweepstakes casino gaming was considered not to be "gambling" and operations are free to conduct their businesses with no oversight from gaming regulators, including in the populous province of Ontario.

With that in mind, VGW's move to exit the Canadian market with their brands seems a little preplexing. That said, they are one of the sharpest (if not THE sharpest) operators in the sweepstakes casino space, so we're certain it has come with good reason.

The good news is that, here at SportsBoom, we have a huge list of sweepstakes casinos that offer better bonuses and promotions than Chumba Casino and Global Poker. Check out our online casino reviews and you're sure to find several operations that will accept your action and treat you right.