Exclusive: Rank Group restructures international department to boost Yo Bingo growth

London-listed operator Rank Group has relocated its international technology hub from Malta to Barcelona to aid the development of its Spanish-facing Yo brands.

As part of the move, Rank will double its workforce at the new Barcelona hub from 10 employees to 20 over the next few months, EGR Intel has learned.

The relocation follows lower-than-expected performance of its Spanish Yo brands which includes Yo Bingo and the newly launched Yo Casino, which debuted in December.

In last week’s H2 update, Rank revealed like-for-like revenues for its Yo brands had dipped by 2% year-on-year, marking the second consecutive period of numbers below expectations.

Rank Group CEO John O’Reilly said that while the business was still profitable, the extensive work involved in getting Yo Casino up and running had led to the company pulling resources away from the Yo Bingo brand, contributing to the reduced revenues.

“We’ve got a small team of folks who have been involved in this process and I think our eyes have been a little bit off the ball in respect of the bingo business,” O’Reilly told EGR Intel.

“So, we’ve got a lot of work to do to improve our offering and that’s where the team will now refocus their efforts,” he added.

Rank has committed to a redesign of its Yo Bingo platform as part of its three-year digital transformation programme. EGR understands the Yo Bingo platform will relaunch in May and will include new products, together with a new user interface.

In addition to the relocation and bolstered headcount, Rank has promoted Marcin Zawada to the post of COO of the group’s international division, reporting into international MD Paul Richardson.

Zawada will be responsible for ensuring “operational excellence” across Rank’s international portfolio in his new role, as well as financial and strategic leadership.

Zawada joined Rank in October 2018 as transformation programme lead, working on the group’s three-year digital transformation plan. He coordinated the due diligence process on the group’s acquisition of Stride Gaming and has subsequently helped to support the integration of the Stride business post-acquisition.

Prior to joining Rank, Zawada worked within the restructuring services department at global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

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