UK-based operator William Hill abruptly shuttered its operations in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
As yet details surrounding William Hill’s exit from British Columbia are pretty vague.
According to several published reports, users of the site were greeted with a message stating that the company had shuttered the site due to, “regulatory issues.” What exactly those regulatory issues were remains something of a mystery.
The message continued with an apology from the company saying:
We regret to inform you that William Hill Casino Club has taken a decision to withdraw all of its online gaming services for all residents of British Columbia for the foreseeable future.
We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you; however this decision has been taken for regulatory reasons beyond our control and with very short notice.
The company isn’t the first operator to hightail it out of Canada on short notice with little in the way of an explanation. Two years ago, according to CalvinAyre.com, Ladbrokes pulled out of their Canadian operation under similar circumstances. Paddy Power and Betfair closed down, in one form or another, their Canadian sites, too.
Online gambling occupies an odd space in the regulated Canadian gambling market. While online lotteries are legal in every province, there’s plenty of grey areas that allow operators who aren’t based in Canada a great deal of space to serve Canadian players.
Canadian lawmakers have flirted with the idea of legalized sports betting but, so far, none of their efforts have borne fruit.
William Hill’s BC players are free to withdraw their deposits at their leisure.