People news 23 May 2013
The latest people moves from the egaming industry in the last seven days (17 May to 23 May 2013)
Ladbrokes to lay off “around 100″ staff
Bulk of redundancies to come from product, marketing and support teams as operator shifts “key tasks” to Tel Aviv subsidiary
Ladbrokes is to begin a series of redundancies at its head office in London as it shifts a number of key roles to its Ladbrokes Israel subsidiary, with up to 100 employees to be laid off.
eGaming Review understands the operator has held meetings with a number of staff within its gaming team, with the product, marketing and support divisions among those affected, with a three-month consultation period now underway. Around 10% of its staff at the Rayner’s Lane office are to be let go in total.
Ladbrokes has confirmed this is directly related to the establishment of its newly-formed subsidiary Ladbrokes Israel, formerly The Nation Traffic, which was acquired for £850,000 as part of the operator’s long-term licensing agreement with Playtech.
A statement provided by the operator explained that “in order to maximise [the] potential” of the Tel Aviv division a number of key tasks are now set to be transferred to its operation.
Exclusive: Former VF chief joins Hills to work on Centrebet integration
Aaron Johnson, former chief executive of Playtech’s B2B bingo business Virtue Fusion, has joined William Hill as a consultant, managing the integration of its newly acquired Australian business.
Johnson will work under Robin Chhabra at the operator’s corporate development office in London. The operator has also confirmed the departure of former corporate development director Paul Leyland, though eGR understands Leyland’s exit and Johnson’s appointment are unrelated.
Leyland joined William Hill in March 2012 from Investec alongside former Jeffries and Company analyst Andy Lee, who has since been appointed CEO of William Hill Online, replacing Henry Birch in the role.
William Hill took over Sportingbet’s Australian operations – including the Centrebet brand – as part of a joint takeover with GVC in March. Johnson will be involved in integrating a business which chief executive Ralph Topping said offers ” a well-recognised brand, an experienced team and a market-leading position in a highly competitive market”.
Seven days in people news:
HÃ¥kansson named Lotteriinspektionen chair
The Swedish Lotteriinspektionen (Gambling Authority) has appointed Per HÃ¥kansson as the organisation’s new chairman.
HÃ¥kansson will hold the role alongside his current position of chief legal counsel to the country’s Finansinspektionen (Financial Supervisory Authority), where he has served since 2009. Previously he held the same role at the Swedish pensions authority for a year, where he joined after six years as general counsel for the Central Bank of Sweden.
HÃ¥kansson will replace Anne-Christine Zachrisson as the authority’s chair, with Zachrisson remaining on its board of directors.
OLG board resigns in protest at chairman’s dismissal
The board of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has resigned after chairman Paul Godfrey was fired.
The reasons behind Godfrey’s dismissal are unclear, with a statement from the province’s finance minister Charles Sousa thanking the former chair for his service, but failing to reveal why he had been removed. Secretary of the cabinet Peter Wallace will take on Godfrey’s role until a replacement is selected.