Industry News
Stars Group Announces Job Losses at Isle of Man Office

The Stars Group has announced job losses at its Isle of Man office due to the operational difficulties that its PokerStars brand experiencing in some international markets. The group has not confirmed the number of people who will be losing their jobs.
“As we’ve previously noted, our International segment (PokerStars) has faced many headwinds over the last year, including disruptions in some of our key markets. As a result, we are pursuing operational initiatives, including cost-optimisation opportunities, as we’ve done in the past, to reassess our fixed cost base and realign our costs with our global growth strategy,” the group said.
“We believe the proposed reductions in headcount on the Isle of Man are a component of our overall plans to position us to deliver our mid-term growth targets and long-term sustainable growth. Apart from the personal impact on affected individuals today’s news will have little foreseeable impact on our overall operations in the Isle of Man, which has always been a critical operational hub for the company and will remain so,” the group added.
PokerStars moved to the Isle of Man in 2005. Isle of Man staff numbers have increased dramatically since it moved to the island, growing from just five employees in 2005 to more than 400. The Stars Group saw an 11.7% decrease in international poker revenue during the second quarter of 2019. The group said last year that it would be impacted by regulatory changes in Switzerland and Russia.
Industry News
Aspire Global Reviews Role of B2C Segment Within Group Structure

Leading iGaming provider Aspire Global has announced a review of its B2C segment. The segment reported record-high revenues in Q4 2020 and comprises the well-known European online casino brand Karamba alongside other local proprietary brands.
The review will assist the Company to focus on its growing B2B ambitions and its market-leading technology, while also accelerating the B2C’s revenue growth and reinforcing the record high revenues it achieved in Q4 2020.
The announcement follows Aspire Global’s Q4 and FY 2020 results on 18 February 2021, with the company reporting record-high revenues of €161.9 million for 2020 and the Group’s EBITDA amounted to a record €27.1 million.
“We are very pleased with the growth and results recently recorded by the business’ B2C segment, but we think a review will assist us to better assess our options to further accelerate our growth. Such a move could help improve Aspire Global’s overall margins and EBITDA and potentially help us accelerate new B2B initiatives and enter fresh markets. Overall, we are well positioned to capitalise on the array of opportunities available to us in the global, fast-growth iGaming industry,” Tsachi Maimon, CEO of Aspire Global, said.
Industry News
Esports Entertainment Group Completes Acquisition of Lucky Dino

Esports Entertainment Group has announced that its Malta gaming licensed subsidiary, Esport Entertainment (Malta) Limited, has completed its acquisition of the business assets of Lucky Dino Gaming Limited (Lucky Dino).
The ~$30 million deal was financed through cash raised in an equity offering in February.
“Over the past five years, Lucky Dino has evolved from a single brand white-label casino operator into a multi-brand, class-leading casino operator and technology business. In addition to further strengthening our tech stack, Lucky Dino’s assets will give us a substantial foothold in multiple new jurisdictions across Europe, particularly in Scandinavia where esports are extremely popular, and with Lucky Dino’s 25K monthly active casino players we will have tremendous cross-selling opportunities with our SportNation and VIE.bet betting platforms,” Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group, said.
“Lucky Dino has generated an impressive track record of growth, reporting an 86% CAGR on revenue for the five years ended June 30, 2020. With opportunities to realize synergies across shared back-office functions, payment processing and more, we are in a great position to build upon Lucky Dino’s notable EBITDA performance. Ultimately, we will look to bring this exciting online casino platform to the U.S. in the future alongside our VIE.bet esports offering,” Johnson added.
Industry News
Trustly Becomes Official Open Banking Partner of West Ham United FC

Trustly has become the Official Open Banking Partner of West Ham United, an iconic football team in the English Premier League.
Open Banking is an initiative that enables Trustly to further enhance its unique account-to-account-based payment solution in the UK market, giving merchants the possibility to offer consumers a preferred way to pay.
“Trustly is delighted to partner with West Ham United, the iconic London club in the Premier League. This partnership comes as the UK’s adoption of Open Banking experiences tremendous growth. We’re overjoyed to combine the worlds of football and payment solutions, and we look forward to working closely with West Ham throughout this multi-year partnership,” Johan Nord, Trustly’s EMEA Chief Business Officer, said.
“At West Ham United, innovation is key to everything we do and we are thrilled to partner with Trustly, an organization that is redefining the speed, simplicity and security of payments through its own products,” Nathan Thompson, Commercial Director of West Ham United, said.
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