Sydney-based Techlink Entertainment has suspended operations and laid off about 60 employees.

Techlink’s specialty was producing VLT games that accepted prepaid cards rather than cash with the goal of alerting players when they’d spent a certain amount.

Such machines had been mandated in Nova Scotia under the province’s responsible gambling rules. But the provincial government ended Techlink’s responsible gaming contract last year, saying its My-Play system was flawed.

The company had received financial backing from Nova Scotia Business Inc., which had approved equity investments and loans to the company totaling $13 million, though not all of those funds had been paid to the company.

TechLink was the second company from the NSBI portfolio to halt operations this year as Halifax’s Origin Biomed went into receivership in April. NSBI’s venture capital arm, which is no longer making new investments, invested a total of $7.9 million in the company.

The CBC reported Monday that Techlink President John Xidos blamed the decision on "financial shortages from delayed and unforeseen business decisions."

The Sydney-area community is now working on doing what it can to reverse or mitigate the economic impact of the announcement on Monday.

The Chronicle-Herald reported that company officials want politicians and business leaders to attend a meeting at Techlink’s headquarters Wednesday to help forge a response plan of action. That could include steps to secure the company’s future and prevent losses to the local economy.

The organizers of the Spark Cape Breton Demo Day scheduled for Friday have changed the schedule so that it will include a Founders Speed Dating session from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. Each laid off employee will have 30 seconds to tell potential employers their name, skill set and what work they’re looking for.

The goal, said Innovacorp investment manager Bob Pelley, is to retain as much talent from the Techlink staff as possible in the city’s growing tech community.

“Our community is rallying behind these people and wants to do its best to keep as many of them as possible gainfully employed right here,” he said.