People news 6 March 2014
The latest people news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (28 February to 6 March 2014)
888 restructures team following bingo review
Some roles have been made redundant while others have been relocated to operator’s Israel base
888 has made a small number of roles redundant after completing a six-month operational review of its underperforming bingo business, eGaming Review understands.
The redundancies, which are believed to have been in single figures and affected staff at the operator’s London offices, were finalised last week.
In addition, a similar number of positions have been relocated to Israel where the bingo team’s management is also based.
The process is thought to have brought an end to a strategic review which kicked-off last August following a sequence of disappointing bingo results.
Former Lads CEO plots £60m gaming floatation
XLMedia, the egaming marketing firm chaired by former Ladbrokes chief executive Chris Bell, has announced plans to float on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and aims to raise up to £24m.
The flotation values the Israel-based firm, whose clients include William Hill, 888, Ladbrokes, Unibet and bet365, at around £60m.
XLMedia was founded in 2003 by technology entrepreneur and professional poker player Ory Weihs before merging with online marketing firms Webpals and Reef Media, which operate as part of the XLMedia group.
Seven days in people news:
Paysafecard CEO and co-founder steps down
The co-founder of payment solution provider Paysafecard Michael Mueller has stepped down from his role as CEO and resigned from the company’s board of directors.
Mueller co-founded the Paysafecard group in 2000 and will be replaced by Udo Mueller, who has been on the board since 2006.
“After 14 years of building and developing the company, my decision to leave paysafecard has not been an easy one. Currently, we enable one billion people worldwide to pay online without a credit card or bank account,” said the outgoing CEO.
Sportsbet founder Tripp re-enters Aus market
Sportbet founder Matt Tripp is returning to the Australian online wagering market three years after he sold his business to Paddy Power, eGaming Review can reveal.
Having seen out a three-year non-compete period last weekend, Tripp and his business partners acquired independent sportsbook operator BetEzy and are set to relaunch a completely new site in the coming months.
BetEzy, which is understood to be roughly equivalent to the Tom Waterhouse business acquired by William Hill in terms of revenues, will be rebranded as BetEasy.
Bet24 founder re-enters Danish market
Holger Kristiansen, the founder of Danish online egaming firm Bet24, has re-entered the Danish market with two new sites almost two years after Bet24 was acquired by Unibet.
Kristiansen has partnered with Denmark-based mobile telecoms carrier TDC to launch both Bet25.dk and Rod25.dk which will provide sports betting and casino services for the Danish market.
Kristiansen founded Bet24 in 2001 before selling the site to Swedish media firm Modern Times Group (MTG) in instalments between 2004 and 2006.
Sportech‘s chief operating officer of its consumer-facing business Ian Hogg is set to leave after over three years at the London-listed operator.
Hogg has worked in the online and land-based gambling industry since 2002 when he became managing director of At The Races and later held senior positions at numerous firms before joining Sportech in October 2010.