Sky Betting and Gaming axes social gaming division
Head of social games Bruce Bale leaves the operator following decision to close the division last week
Sky Betting and Gaming has closed its social games division after only two years in operation following a strategic business review of its performance, eGaming Review can reveal.
The Leeds-based operator axed its social arm late last week with its head of social games Bruce Bale leaving the firm as a result of the closure.
“Following a recent review of our business operations we have taken the decision to close down our social games business with immediate effect as it did not form part of our core business,” a spokesperson for Sky Betting and Gaming told eGR.
Bale originally joined Sky Betting and Gaming in October 2013 from Facebook where he worked for two years as Europe, Middle East and Africa manager for social gaming.
Prior to joining the social network he also held various roles at DeNa West Viagogo, West Ham United, Leeds United and Deloitte.
Under his stewardship as head of social games Bale oversaw the launch of Sky Betting and Gaming’s first social casino title Sky Hollywood Slots on iOS and Android earlier this year.
The social slot product was created in partnership with San Francisco-based B2B social casino supplier OpenWager which had previously developed similar games for media giant USA TODAY and Austrian real-money operator win2day.
The operator’s social games team was also responsible for the launch of Sky Betting and Gaming’s free-to-play Sky Sports Soccer Quiz app which tasks players with answering football-specific questions via individual and head-to-head tournaments.
The social casino products are due to close down over the coming weeks.