Key Points
- Corey Goodman has been confirmed as permanent CEO of NorthStar Gaming, ending an eight-month interim period that began when Michael Moskowitz resigned suddenly in December 2025.
- CFO Chin Dhushenthen resigned on 17 August 2026; NorthStar co-founder and CFA charterholder Ben Powell steps in as interim CFO, bringing founder-level knowledge of the company’s finances at a critical moment.
- NorthStar’s shares remain suspended under an Ontario Securities Commission cease trade order, and completing three consecutive years of outstanding audits is now the single obligation that determines the company’s path forward.
NorthStar Gaming confirmed Corey Goodman as its permanent chief executive on 17 August 2026. On the surface, the move looks routine. Dig an inch deeper and the picture changes entirely.
Goodman stepped into the interim CEO role on 8 December 2025, the same day founding CEO Michael Moskowitz resigned without notice after four years leading the company. The resignation landed alongside a going concern warning buried in NorthStar’s Q3 financial report, which stated the company’s cash flow “may not be sufficient to fund operating expenditures, including marketing investments, and meet certain debt-related covenants with its senior lender without further action.” Goodman, a co-founder and the company’s former chief development officer and general counsel, was handed the controls that same day. Eight months of stabilisation work later, the board has made his position permanent.
CFO Steps Down as Finance Team Gets Rebuilt
Alongside the CEO announcement, NorthStar revealed that Chin Dhushenthen resigned as chief financial officer, also effective 17 August 2026. He has agreed to remain with the company in an advisory role while the outstanding audits are completed, providing some continuity through what is shaping up to be a demanding process.
Taking the interim CFO position is Ben Powell, a CFA charterholder who has been with NorthStar since the company’s founding. According to the official company announcement, Powell has been central to the company’s financing and capital-raising work throughout its existence, with deep knowledge of its capital structure and hands-on experience across budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning. With three consecutive fiscal years under audit simultaneously, putting someone who already knows every layer of the company’s finances into that role is a deliberate and logical choice.
Krisztina Kalla was also appointed vice president of compliance, taking on the company’s regulatory compliance function. Goodman addressed all three appointments in a statement: “I want to thank Chin for his contributions to NorthStar and for his continued support through the completion of our audits. Chin has agreed to remain engaged in an advisory capacity, which will provide continuity as our auditors complete their work. I am also pleased to welcome Ben and Krisztina to their new roles, and I am confident that the strengthened finance and compliance functions will serve the Company well as we move forward.”
The Audit Crisis That Most Coverage Is Glossing Over
Most reporting on this announcement has treated the outstanding audits as a background detail. They are not a background detail.
In May 2026, the Ontario Securities Commission issued a failure-to-file cease trade order against NorthStar, halting all trading of the company’s securities across Canada. The order came after NorthStar’s independent auditor withdrew the audit report it had issued for the 2024 financial year, stating it could no longer stand behind controls tied to a key vendor’s player account management software. That concern extended into the 2025 figures as well. NorthStar contested the decision, but the OSC rejected the company’s request for a more limited management cease trade order, determining the situation was too uncertain for a softer response. NorthStar’s shares on the TSX Venture Exchange have been suspended since the order was issued, and the annual general meeting, previously scheduled for 25 May 2026, has been postponed indefinitely.
Davidson & Company LLP is now engaged to audit NorthStar’s financial statements for the fiscal years ended 31 December 2023, 2024, and 2025, with all three audits running at the same time. NorthStar expects the work to be completed later in 2026. Alongside Powell’s appointment, the company has also brought in a chartered professional accountant on a consulting basis to strengthen its accounting function through the process. Share trading, the annual meeting, and any meaningful assessment of the company’s financial position all depend on those audits clearing first.
A Restructuring Already in Motion
This leadership shake-up is not a standalone event. It was in the company’s strategic update released on 23rd February 2026 that NorthStar announced a reduction in staff and savings of approximately $3 million annually on general and administrative expenses. This was a clear indication of the company’s shift from the expansion-oriented approach that it had been practising for a long time now.
Board chair Dean MacDonald tied that context directly to Goodman’s confirmed appointment: “Corey has brought focus and discipline to the Company at a pivotal time. The board has full confidence in his leadership as NorthStar completes its outstanding financial reporting and continues to strengthen the business.”
What the Company Needs to Do Now?
NorthStar’s NorthStarBets.ca platform, operated under an agreement with iGaming Ontario and registered with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, has kept running without interruption through the regulatory situation. The OSC’s cease trade order covers securities, not betting operations, so players on the platform are unaffected. Playtech plc, NorthStar’s largest shareholder and technology partner, also remains in place.
The sequence ahead is clear enough, even if the timing is not. Davidson & Company must complete all three outstanding audits. NorthStar must file the required financial statements and certifications. The OSC must revoke the cease trade order. Once that happens, the annual meeting can be rescheduled, share trading can resume, and investors can finally see audited figures for three years they have been waiting on. Goodman’s permanent appointment sets the leadership in place for that process. What it cannot do is speed it up.
Expert Analysis
What NorthStar announced on 17 August is, at its core, a confidence signal from the board. Goodman has steadied the company through a stretch that began with a sudden CEO exit, included a going concern warning, produced a regulator-issued trading halt, and required a wholesale restructuring. Confirming him permanently removes one source of uncertainty. Putting Powell into the CFO role, someone who has known this company’s finances since day one, is a practical decision given what auditors are currently working through. The compliance VP hire adds a third layer, quietly acknowledging that the challenges ahead are not purely financial. All three moves suggest a board that has accepted the reality of the situation and is building the team to work through it, rather than around it.
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