Three of the four co-founders of Canadian esports-focused business Rivalry have resigned from the company, with the trio also holding c-level positions at the firm.

The resignations come amid a significant stall for Rivalry. The company paused operations in February this year as part of a wider push to reduce costs – this included a cessation of all player activity, as well as  employee layoffs and consideration of asset sales.

Rivalry’s director exodus

A Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) business, Rivalry announced on Friday that in total five senior executives had stepped down from its board of directors, including Ryan White, Kevin Wimer, Steven Isenberg and Demi Abidogun-Benson.

White and Winner co-founded Rivalry back in 2016 alongside Chief Executive Officer, Steven Salz. The duo held the roles of Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer, respectively.

Steven Isenberg is the last of the three Rivalry co-founders to leave the company. Rivalry’s website states that he is on the local advisory committee of the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV).

He is also the founder of TSXV-listed Urabanfund Corp, a Toronto-focused real estate company, and was founder and CEO of M Partners, an investment bank set up back in 2005. 

M Partners was acquired by Research Capital Corporation, another TSX company, in 2023. During its eight year history, it counted Rivalry co-founder and CEO Salz as an employee, where he was listed as an Equity Research Analyst between 2014-2016.

The final two resignees did not co-found Rivalry back in 2016. Abidogun-Benson has resigned from both the board and her role as interim Chief Financial Officer. She joined the company back in 2022 as a Senior Manager for corporate reporting, planning and analysis, and became Head of Finance in August 2024.

The final director to resign last week is Stephen Rigby, the former President and CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). Between 2010-2015, he was National Security Advisor to then-Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper.

Rivalry’s struggle continues

Since its inception, Rivalry has operated with a focus on Gen Z and millennial audiences, underpinned by product design, marketing and a content strategy based around internet humour and culture.

The firm is licensed in Ontario and also in Australia, but is active in a number of international grey markets via an Isle of Man licence. In March 2023, it launched the casino.exe platform, and iGaming has since accounted for around half of its betting handle in quarterly earnings reports.

The firm’s foray into digital currencies came about despite crypto gambling not being legal in neither Canada nor Australia, its two licensed markets. The company is still described as a ‘crypto casino’ in Google search, however, though its site has been inaccessible since it hit pause on activity back in February.

Rivalry began running into difficulties on the TSX in 2025, being late in publishing its full year 2024 statement to the exchange. In April, it applied for a management cease trading order with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).

The following months saw extensive cost reduction efforts, with a strategic review and commissioning of New York advisory services firm XST Capital Group.