Rivalry Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Steven Salz has resigned as CEO of the struggling Toronto-based gaming and betting company.
Salz will remain on the board of directors but his exit leaves the company, which ceased all gaming operations in February, without clear leadership.
In late April, Rivalry confirmed that a series of C-suite exits had left Salz as the last remaining board member and top-level executive at the company. Five Rivalry executives and/or board members resigned from the operator at that time:
- Co-Founder and Director Steve Isenberg
- Co-Founder, Director, and Chief Technology Officer Ryan White
- Co-Founder, Director, and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Wimer
- Director Stephen Rigby
- Interim Chief Financial Officer Demi Abidogun-Benson
As of the time of writing, Rivalry’s website still lists Isenberg, Rigby, White, and Wimer in their board and executive roles.
What happened at Rivalry Corp.?
Salz’s exit as CEO is the latest upheaval at Rivalry, which previously offered a range of gaming products in multiple jurisdictions, including casino gaming, sports betting, and esports in Ontario’s regulated iGaming market.
In the period between late 2024 and early 2026, the firm undertook a sweeping overhaul of its business, including an increased focus on cryptocurrency, a repositioning to better target high-value digital-first players, a revamp of its sportsbook and redesign of its casino, and more.
During that staggered process, Rivalry halved the size of its total workforce by 50% and several C-suite executives including Salz, White, and Wimmer took a voluntary 100% pay cut. Salz subsequently reduced his own salary by another 50%.
In April 2025, the Toronto-based firm announced its board of directors had decided to launch a review of “strategic alternatives” to support its long-term growth and determine the best path forward, including a potential sale.
Salz and the company maintained publicly that the strategic moves had positioned it well for the future. But, despite Rivalry reporting a record quarter for its Ontario business in December 2025 and improving its net loss by 67% last year, it began 2026 almost $2m in the red.
Rivalry’s trading troubles
Rivalry has also had issues with financial reporting. In May 2025, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) issued a management cease-trade order after the firm failed to file its FY24 and Q1 2025 financial statements. The OSC lifted that order in July 2025 once the company published those financials.
The OSC then issued a failure-to-file cease-trade order on May 6, 2026, as a result of the company’s failure to file audited annual financial statements and related annual filings for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025. Going further than the previous management cease-trader order, the current order bans all trading of Rivalry shares in Canada, with some limited exceptions.
In an announcement last Friday which shared the news of Salz’s resignation as CEO, Rivalry said that the TSX Venture Exchange downgraded its listing from Tier 1 to Tier 2 as of June 30, 2026, as the company does not currently satisfy the requirements for continued Tier 1 listing. Reinstatement to trading would require the cease-trade order to be revoked, which itself would require Rivalry to file all missing annual documentation.
Looking for a buyer?
At the time that it shut down play in February, the operator said it was in discussions with third parties about “potential transactions”, which could include a partial or full sale.
However, it warned that given its reduced operating scale and the ongoing strategic review, “there can be no assurance that any strategic alternative will be completed or that operations will continue in their current form.”
In its latest public announcement on July 3, Rivalry said only that it continues to evaluate strategic alternatives while it lies dormant in both the gaming industry and on the stock exchange.
