A Canadian company ­announced Wednesday that it will not pursue a license for
a slot machine parlor in ­Littleton, where some residents had reacted with outrage at the idea of a gambling facility in their small town along ­Interstate 495.

Clairvest, a Canadian private equity firm, said it would continue to evaluate opportunities for a ­license elsewhere in the state, but it did not specify any locations.

The company had been eyeing a site at The Point, a new development at I-495 and Great Road, but did not file a formal application with the state.

Residents said more than 600 people had joined a Facebook group created last month after news broke that a slot machine parlor was under discussion. Most postings were against the idea, residents said.

“I simply don’t see — in a town dotted with farms and kid-centered activities — a behemoth development, 1,250 slot machines, being anything positive,” resident Jenna Brownson said in an interview Wednesday before the company announced it was pulling out. “It seems to me there’s a great amount of disdain for this idea. My hope is that Clairvest has heard from enough Littleton residents to say, ‘You know, we’ll go to somewhere else.’ ”

The state’s 2011 gambling law authorizes up to three ­resort casinos and one slot ­machine parlor.

Competitors for the slot machine parlor license include Raynham Park, a former dog racing track, and Plainridge Racecourse, which is the only competitor for the license that has submitted the $400,000 application fee. The application deadline is Jan. 15.

Also in the mix is a property on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Charlton, controlled by businessman Vincent Iuliano, who said the site has received interest from gambling companies.