Rivalry Pauses Player Activity As It Primes for a Sale
Posted on: February 14, 2026, 09:35h.
Last updated on: February 14, 2026, 09:41h.
- Player activity paused, player refunds issued
- Rivalry had announced new focus and strategy in 2025, including crypto-first strategy
- Company cuts back on staff, seeks out a buyer for its operations and assets
Toronto-Rivalry has paused all player activity on its platform, implemented “substantial” cost reductions, including “significantly” cutting back on staff, as it seemingly hunts for a buyer for its operations and assets, or figures out some other exit.
Player’s funds are being returned. Rivalry’s Board of Directors approved the reductions, the company said in a statement, adding that it is exploring “asset-level transactions, corporate transactions, restructuring initiatives or other strategic outcomes”.
The news runs counter to what we’ve been reading and reporting about Rivalry over the past year.
Operation Shut Down
Rivalry burst onto the scene in April 2022, when Ontario’s regulated igaming market went live. With a focus mostly on esports, and fresh, youthful takes on igaming marketing (the company deliberately stayed away from bonusing), while speaking specifically to the Gen Z crowd, they were seemingly on the road to growth and success.
In 2024 the company announced it was diversifying away from esports to categories like traditional sports betting, casinos and fantasy, while continue to build a brand that was a “bridge to Gen Z experiences”.
Significant Staff Cutbacks
Company CEO Steven Salz said in a letter to shareholders that year: “[The brand] is strategically positioned at the intersection of gaming and internet culture with marketing that spreads globally through unignorable creative work. The connective thread … is a highly nuanced understanding of Gen Z’s consumer behaviours, its connectivity to gaming and internet culture, and our ability to transform it into a successful product experience that is well-differentiated from the pack.”
Then came a launch into crypto – with the Rivalry Token, an effort to reach the tech-savvy with a blockchain-based product to help further build market share among digitally native bettors. There was even a move in 2025 to add the Solana cryptocurrency $TRUMP as an accepted payment method to act on “culturally viral moments” to further boost the Rivalry brand.
Player Activity Paused
They were two sets of staff layoffs in 2024. One of the last times Casino.org wrote on Rivalry, last summer, Rivalry had released its Q1 2025 numbers, pointing to what the company said were the benefits of a new operating structure. Rivalry had completed a product, brand and marketing overhaul going into 2025, that included that crypto-first strategy and a focus on high-value players.
There was a revamped registration flow, login, sportsbook, new crypto-first cashier, redesigned casino offering, and a comprehensive VIP rewards program. Salz told shareholders the company was leaner, ready to focus on their next chapter of growth.
Yesterday, the company announced it is “engaged in discussions with third parties regarding potential transactions”.
No Guarantees Moving Forward
“However, in light of recent performance volatility, the Board has determined to materially reduce the scale of operations while assessing whether a strategic transaction or other alternative can be advanced.
“Effective immediately, the Company is implementing substantial cost reductions, including a significant workforce reduction and reduced operating expenditures. The Company has paused player activity on its platform and is facilitating player withdrawals in the ordinary course.”
In the statement the company said “there can be no assurance that any strategic alternative will be completed or that operations will continue in their current form”. Rivalry added it will provide further updates “if and when material developments occur”.
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