People news 04/04/13
The latest people moves from the egaming industry in the last seven days (29 March to 4 April 2013).
Blue Square staff face lay-offs following Betfair deal
Between 40-45 employees expected to lose jobs following Betfair buyout of Rank Group brand.
Almost all staff who were employed directly by Blue Square face losing their jobs following a deal which saw Betfair acquire the sportsbook operator’s customer database and brand assets.
According to a source close to the matter, between 40 and 45 Blue Square employees are already taking part in a first wave of consultations addressing their redundancy, while a further 20 staff working across former parent company Rank Interactive’s other brands could also be under threat.
Under the terms of the deal, which sees Betfair acquire around 120,000 sports betting and gaming customers, no technology or personnel will be transferred.
Blue Square had been loss-making for Rank Group in the past six months, with the results for the six months ended 31 December 2012 showing a £4.8m from the sportsbook, prompting Rank to “undertake of a review” of the business in January.
Secretary general Ligné leaves EGBA
Sigrid Ligné, secretary general of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), has left the lobby group after six years in her role to take up a post with an as-yet-unnamed association in Brussels.
She has been replaced by Maarten Haijer, the organisation’s former director of regulatory affairs, who has been with EGBA since 2008.
Haijer has been based in Brussels since late 2003, previously serving as consumer protection counsellor at the Netherlands Permanent Representation to the EU, and he told eGaming Review he sees a lot of crossover between EU consumer protection directives and EGBA’s pursuits within the European online gambling space.
Seven days in people news:
Lottery commissioners appointed to UK Gambling Commission
Mary Chapman and Robert Foster, commissioners with the UK’s National Lottery Commission, have been appointed to the country’s Gambling Commission by Government Minister for Sport and Tourism Hugh Robertson.
The move is seen as a precursor for the merger of the Lottery Commission’s functions with those of the Gambling Commission, and the pair will continue to devote three days a month to their lottery responsibilities until such a merger is formally completed.
A consultation over the proposed merger was opened last July before being brought to a close in October, and was part of a wider government strategy of “increasing the accountability and reducing the number and cost of public bodies”.
Tipp24 appoints new CMO
German operator Tipp24 has announced the appointment of Dr Helmut Becker as its chief marketing officer.
Dr Becker, who has been on the company’s supervisory board since 2011 and has also sat on the board of social network Xing AG since 2009, fills the role vacated by Petra von Strombeck when the former CMO left to head up spin-off business Lotto24 last year.
He joins CEO Dr Hans Cornehl and recently appointed CFO Andreas Keilon the executive board of Tipp24, as the company prepares to seek shareholder approval over a proposed relocation to London.
Ultimate Poker signs pro player Esfandiari
Fertitta Interactive brand Ultimate Poker has become the first licensed US operator to sign a professional poker player as a brand ambassador.
Antonio Esfandiari (pictured) is ranked number one for all-time tournament poker winnings worldwide and has won two World Poker Tour titles as well as three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, including last summer’s US$1m buy-in Big One for One Drop tournament, where he won a record $18.3m.
Affiliate marketing and consultancy business Ihre Consulting has appointed former professional poker player Peter Freden as its CRM affiliate manager.
Freden, who most recently served as sales manager with a Swedish newspaper group, said “Combining [online media] with my other passion, gaming, makes it a very interesting challenge and I am really looking forward finally combining the two.”