NorthStar Gaming Appoints Corey Goodman as CEO, Ben Powell as Interim CFO and Krisztina Kalla as VP Compliance

NorthStar Gaming has done something most boards wait to do. On 17 August 2026, the Ontario operator confirmed its interim chief executive permanently, before the company’s outstanding audits are closed. NorthStar Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSXV: BET) named Corey Goodman as its Chief Executive Officer on a permanent basis, ending an interim tenure that began on 8 December 2025. The same announcement changed the finance seat and added a compliance lead. On paper, the NorthStar Gaming CEO appointment is simple. The timing around it is what makes it worth reading closely.

Why NorthStar confirmed Corey Goodman as CEO now

Goodman was not a new face. He has run the Ontario operator on an interim basis since last December, through what NorthStar describes as a period of financial and operational stabilisation and its work to resolve outstanding audit and reporting matters. Confirming him before that work is finished is a deliberate choice. Board Chair Dean MacDonald said Goodman had “brought focus and discipline to the Company at a pivotal time, and the Board has full confidence in his leadership as NorthStar completes its outstanding financial reporting and continues to strengthen the business.”

The message underneath is clear enough. A board that locks in its leader mid-audit is signalling that it wants no uncertainty at the top while the most sensitive work is being done.

Inside the NorthStar Gaming finance leadership transition

The changes ran deeper than the top job. Chin Dhushenthen has resigned as Chief Financial Officer, effective 17 August 2026, but has agreed to stay on in an advisory role to support continuity as the audits are completed. As Goodman put it: “I want to thank Chin for his contributions to NorthStar and for his continued support through the completion of our audits.”

Taking over as Interim CFO is Ben Powell, a CFA charterholder who has been with NorthStar since inception and played a central role in its financing and capital-raising work. NorthStar also appointed Krisztina Kalla as Vice President, Compliance, and engaged a Chartered Professional Accountant on a consulting basis to support its accounting function. These are moves aimed directly at the teams that have to satisfy the auditors.

What the appointment means for the Ontario operator

Here is the part operators and investors care about. NorthStar runs NorthStarBets.ca, a premium iCasino and sportsbook, under an Operating Agreement with iGaming Ontario and a registration with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, on a technology platform supplied by Playtech, its largest shareholder. For a business like this, leadership continuity during an audit cycle is not a soft detail. It is what keeps lenders, investors and the regulator comfortable while the financial reporting catches up. Confirming the CEO and reinforcing finance and compliance on the same day is a coordinated signal, not three unrelated notices.

The open question behind the NorthStar Gaming audit

None of this resolves the underlying issue. Davidson & Company LLP has been engaged to audit NorthStar’s outstanding financial statements for the years ended 31 December 2023, 2024 and 2025, and plans to complete all three concurrently, with the company expecting completion later in 2026. Until those audits are done, the reporting backlog stays open. The company’s own forward-looking disclosure lists its ability to operate as a going concern and to resolve its audit and reporting matters among its risk factors. That is NorthStar’s own language, and it belongs in any fair account of this news.

From new appointments to audit answers: what’s next

The near-term task is easy to name and harder to pass: complete the three audits later in 2026 as planned. A confirmed CEO, a reshaped finance function and a dedicated compliance lead are the scaffolding for that work, not proof it is finished. Whether the market reads today’s move as reassurance or as a reason to look harder will come down to what those audits show when they finally arrive.

Source: NorthStar Gaming