Playtech COO switches roles in company restructure

Playtech chief operating officer Shay Segev has been appointed chief executive of the Group’s retail subsidiary Videobet as the software supplier undergoes a wider company restructure.

According to the Group, the redeployment of Segev is part of an increased focus on the development of its retail arm.

“I am delighted to lead Playtech’s retail arm through its next strategic phase of combining our retail and online offering,” Segev, who joined Playtech as COO of Videobet in 2006 before being appointed Playtech COO in 2011, said.

“The forthcoming years promise to be of great strategic and operational importance, as we embark on many initiatives to create a full turnkey solution that will allow retail businesses to transition into the digital world,” he added.

Playtech has yet to announce Segev’s successor however eGaming Review understands the new COO has already started in the role having been selected from a number of internal applicants.

The COO switch comes as part of wider change at the software supplier with the company believed to have made around 30 redundancies across a number of Playtech’s Israel-based divisions while boosting headcount in London and its Eastern European offices.

Speaking with eGR, a company spokesperson was unable to confirm numbers but said it was “only natural” that a company of more than 3,500 employees would see a change in personnel from time-to-time.

And the spokesperson added that while some departments saw a reduction in numbers, others had increased in size.

Playtech’s retail technologies are currently being used in UK betting shops including Coral and Ladbrokes and last month the former launched the Playtech-powered Coral Connect multi-channel wallet.

Last week Playtech chairman Alan Johnson said the company remained committed to making acquisitions in regulated markets as it looks to spend some of its €500m war chest partly accumulated through the sale of its interest in William Hill Online last year.