NorthStar Gaming confirms departure of Chief Executive Michael Moskowitz

Steve (Ziv) Chen

10 December 2025 at 6:55am UTC-5

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Online operator NorthStar Gaming has confirmed that Chief Development Officer and General Counsel Corey Goodman will be serving as Interim Chief Executive following the departure of Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Michael Moskowitz.

Barry Shafran, Chair of the Audit Committee, has also resigned from the Board of Directors, with an announcement pending regarding his replacement.

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As a co-founder of NorthStar, Goodman has extensive experience in online gaming, operational realignment, corporate restructuring, and capital markets.

As part of his role, he will be working alongside the board to improve the company’s cost structure, operational discipline, and efforts to increase revenue and profitability.

NorthStar Gaming Director Dean MacDonald said, “Mr. Goodman has been an essential contributor since the founding of the company. The board has full confidence in his leadership and his deep knowledge of our business. His balanced and disciplined approach will help ensure continuity while we focus on strengthening performance and positioning NorthStar for long-term growth.”

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Additionally, Moskowitz’s position as Chair of the Board has been filled by MacDonald, who has served on the Board of Directors since 2023.

Earlier this year, online games developer Wazdan partnered with NorthStar Gaming to expand its presence in Canada by bringing its portfolio of games to Ontario players.

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The Backstory

Setting the scene for NorthStar’s pivot

NorthStar Gaming’s executive turnover arrives after a stretch of rapid scaling, rising wagers and an ambitious balance sheet overhaul. The company named its chief development officer and general counsel as interim chief executive while also reshuffling its board. The timing underscores a classic inflection point: a growth story that now hinges on converting scale into sustained profitability and operational discipline. Understanding how NorthStar got here requires a look at its recent performance, financing moves and product roadmap, plus the competitive and regulatory dynamics reshaping North American online betting.

Momentum built on rising wagers and margins

NorthStar spent 2024 touting top-line acceleration and improving unit economics. In January, the operator said it expected record fourth-quarter results, including about CAD$303 million in total wagers, up 42% year over year, and revenue of CAD$9.6 million, up 47.6% from a year earlier. Gross margin was projected to climb 76% to CAD$4.4 million. Those unaudited figures, detailed in NorthStar’s preliminary Q4 update, capped a year in which total wagers reached CAD$980 million and revenue rose 53.1% to CAD$29.7 million. Management said the company entered 2025 with momentum and enough funding to target profitability on the current platform.

The backdrop matters for a leadership handoff. NorthStar chipped away at losses in 2024, reporting a smaller third-quarter net loss than the prior year, and highlighted operating leverage from product simplification and customer experience work. Performance metrics can mask the operational strain that rapid scale imposes, however. Sustaining growth while keeping acquisition costs and promotions in check demands tight execution. The board’s emphasis on cost structure and discipline suggests the next phase is about translating scale into durable cash generation.

A financing deal that reset the balance sheet

NorthStar’s capital structure changed significantly late last year with a new credit facility of up to CAD$43.4 million led by Beach Point Capital Management and backed by long-time technology partner Playtech. The debt, which matures in 2030 with a secured overnight financing rate plus 9.35%, was designed to refinance existing obligations, fund operations and establish an interest reserve. In return for its support and guarantees, Playtech received 32.7 million common share purchase warrants at CAD$0.055 per share, according to NorthStar’s financing announcement.

The deal did more than buy time. It deepened a strategic tie to Playtech, aligning technology and capital while giving NorthStar the runway to pursue growth without immediate equity dilution. But debt at a double-digit effective rate raises the bar on execution. Servicing the facility while funding marketing, content and product upgrades puts premium on margin expansion and disciplined cohorts. The leadership transition therefore sits atop a financing stack that rewards tight cost control and steady conversion of handle into gross profit.

Content and product bets aimed at Ontario

NorthStar’s growth strategy has leaned on differentiated content and a locally rooted brand in Ontario, Canada’s largest regulated market. The company operates its NorthStar Bets platform on Playtech’s technology and has layered in new titles to strengthen engagement. A recent example: a distribution pact with Wazdan that brings Ontario players access to games such as 36 Coins and Mighty Wild: Panther Grand Platinum Edition and adds engagement mechanics like Hold the Jackpot and Cash Infinity. The agreement, outlined in Wazdan’s expansion through NorthStar, aims to deepen session length and retention without overspending on bonuses.

This content-first approach is central to NorthStar’s push for better margins. Proprietary media, curated casino, and sportsbook integrations can create a flywheel if engagement drives organic acquisition and higher lifetime value. The challenge: Ontario is crowded with global operators that can outspend on promotions and cross-sell across larger databases. To stand out, NorthStar must keep shipping features that simplify the betting journey, segment offers more precisely and sustain a “local premium” positioning that resonates with Canadian users.

Competitive pressure and shifting industry lines

NorthStar competes in a market reshaped by consolidation and by new products that blur the lines between betting and financial derivatives. Two U.S. giants, DraftKings and FanDuel, recently exited the American Gaming Association as they move into prediction markets regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Their decisions, reported in coverage of the AGA departures, highlight strategic bets on offerings that can operate nationally under federal rules rather than through state-by-state sportsbook regimes.

While Ontario’s framework differs, the shift matters. Prediction markets and adjacent products could create new competitive pressure, especially if they expand consumer expectations around pricing, accessibility and product novelty. For regional operators like NorthStar, the takeaway is clear: product velocity and regulatory fluency are as critical as marketing spend. Defending share means innovating in compliance-heavy categories without losing focus on core sportsbook and casino economics.

Operational rigor in a compliance-first era

The online betting stack has become more complex as markets mature, fraud attempts rise and regulators sharpen oversight. That is fueling investment in geolocation, identity verification and risk modeling. The appointment of a veteran operator, Kip Levin, as chief executive of geolocation provider GeoComply reflects the sector’s pivot toward scaled, product-led compliance. As detailed in GeoComply’s leadership change, the firm signaled plans to accelerate innovation in geolocation security and fraud prevention for operators and platforms.

For NorthStar, an Ontario-first operator tied closely to Playtech’s stack, that ecosystem shift underscores the stakes of its leadership change. Sustained growth will demand precise compliance tooling, tighter risk controls and continued product iteration that reduces friction for users while satisfying regulators. The company’s fresh financing provides time to execute, and its content deals point to a clear strategy. The question now is operational: can NorthStar convert rising handle and a fortified balance sheet into profitable scale while navigating a more competitive, compliance-intensive landscape? The answer will hinge on how seamlessly the interim leadership maintains momentum, shores up unit economics and keeps the product roadmap moving.