People news 18 February 2016
The latest people news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (12 February to 18 February 2016)
GVC kicks-off bwin redundancy round
Operator makes 11 Gibraltar-based bwin.party staff redundant with procurement and internal audit departments still at risk
GVC Holdings has begun the expected restructuring at bwin.party with 11 people at the operator’s Gibraltar offices leaving the firm and additional numbers placed at risk of redundancy over the coming weeks.
A spokesperson for GVC confirmed the departures with staffers from bwin.party’s procurement (three), internal audit (five), bwin labels (one) and games labels (two) divisions having already left the firm.
In addition, the remaining staff that make up bwin.party’s Gibraltar-based internal audit and procurement departments remain at risk of redundancy with a 60-day consultation underway.
“It is no secret we are conducting a review of all operations following the acquisition of bwin,” a GVC spokesperson told eGaming Review.
Coral head of trading resigns
Coral head of trading Sam Foulkes has quit the firm, EGR has learned.
Foulkes left Coral earlier this month having tendered his resignation in December and is now seeing out a period of gardening leave.
Speaking to EGR, Foulkes said it was the right time to move on.
“I am immensely proud of my achievements at Coral and after four years, I felt it was the right time for a new challenge,” Foulkes said.
Seven days in people news:
Ruffett leaves Unibet to lead Tabcorp Sun Casino
Unibet head of casino Adam Ruffett has left the firm to join Tabcorp where he will be responsible for launching the Australian operator’s new UK-facing Sun Casino product, EGR has learned.
Ruffett, whose final day at Unibet was on 29 January, took up his new London-based head of casino role earlier this month, as Tabcorp prepares to add to its Sun Bets sportsbook with a The Sun-branded online casino.
In December it was revealed Tabcorp had signed a 10-year deal with The Sun publisher News UK, which will see the Melbourne-headquartered operator power a UK-facing sportsbook.
Betsson hires Mr Green’s head of casino
Mr Green’s head of casino Andy Braithwaite has re-joined Betsson as the operator’s new group director for games of chance.
Braithwaite, who started his new role last month, has joined Betsson for a second time following a previous stint as the operator’s head of content between 2008 and 2010.
He also previously spent four years at Redbet, initially as head of casino and marketing and latterly as its chief commercial officer, before joining Mr Green as head of casino in December 2013.
Betfred head of digital marketing departs
Betfred head of digital marketing James Shaw has left the firm for a role outside the industry.
Shaw, who joined the Warrington-headquartered operator in February 2014, had been in the gambling industry since 2002 but has now left to become chief marketing officer at holiday cottage rental agency Sykes Cottages.
His departure from Betfred comes a year-and-a-half after being appointed to the head of digital marketing role, having initially joined the operator as head of retention.
Element Wave names new commercial manager
Element Wave has announced the appointment of the Racing Post‘s head of retail B2B, William Morris, as the company’s new manager.
Morris joins the mobile marketing tech firm after nearly eight years working for the Racing Post, which he originally joined in 2008 as a business development executive.
“We’ve been looking to hire someone from the egaming industry for the commercial side of our business and William is definitely the right person for the job,” Dorothy Creaven, CEO of Element Wave, said.