Bwin.party 'streamlines' Italian division
Country manager Francesco Gaziano departs as firm reshapes business following platform integrations
Bwin.party has completed a “streamlining” of its Italian business in a move which has also seen country manager Francesco Gaziano leave the firm, eGaming Review has learned.
Gaziano, who joined from social gaming firm King.com Italia in March 2013, left bwin.party last week and has since been replaced by the firm’s sports product marketing manager Moreno Marasco.
The switch forms part of wider changes at bwin.party’s Milan and Rome offices, with the firm recently completing its long-planned migration of three platforms – bwin, PartyPoker and Gioco Digitale.
Speaking to eGR, a spokesperson for bwin.party said it was unable to comment on specific personnel changes but said the operator had “reshaped” its team following the integration process.
“We have been focused on streamlining our set-up in Italy that continues to operate out of Rome and Milan but we don’t wish to comment on individual personnel changes,” the spokesperson said.
“Earlier this year we successfully migrated three technology platforms onto a single platform. This was a massive, complex project for us and having completed it we have reshaped our supporting structure on the ground in Italy,” the spokesperson added.
Completion of the platform migrations across a number of different jurisdictions were seen as an integral part of the operator’s cost-cutting plans, which this year is budgeted to be in the region of 15m, in addition to last year’s savings of 34m.
Speaking earlier in the year, bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger said he was looking forward to the completion of a migration phase which had been ongoing for “three or four years”.
“But now that this is coming to an end and that at the end of March we will do the last integration, which is Italy, then we will be done with it and it will free up a lot of resources,” Teufelberger said at the time.
The news comes after the firm last week announced it had agreed to licence its bwin sportsbook brand to a network of independent retail bookmaking outlets.
Bwin.party is currently in discussions with both 888 Holdings and GVC Holdings over a potential sale of the business.