Bet365 announces major “rationalisation” to Gibraltar office
Operator to move majority of operations to Malta to help mitigate impact of Brexit
Bet365 has announced a “rationalisation” of staff in its Gibraltar office as the sports betting giant continues to move its operations to Malta following Brexit.
Staff were informed of the start of a consultation process today, with jobs thought to be at risk in several areas including trading, VIP, customer support and CRM.
Several management-level staff have already been offered transfers to Malta, EGR understands
A spokesperson for bet365 said the firm had been building its presence in Malta following Brexit and it had become “increasingly challenging to efficiently run such multisite operations”.
“Therefore, to assist with business planning and in order to maintain operational effectiveness, we intend to enhance our Maltese operational hub and relocate certain functionality there,” the firm added.
“We are now consulting with staff in relation to such relocation. It is intended to maintain a presence in Gibraltar and the final rationalisation will be determined after we have completed our staff consultation.”
We welcome @bet365 announcement on the significant expansion of operations in #Malta, where its footprint will now be double that originally envisaged -JM @SilvioSchembri
— Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) May 23, 2019
The existing office in Gibraltar has a little over 500 staff.
Bet365 said it would not be commenting further while the business review was ongoing.
The Gibraltar Government said in a statement it would work with bet365 to “ensure the footprint of bet365 in Gibraltar remains substantial”.
“It is clear that the decisions announced by bet365 are directly related to Brexit and not to any matter otherwise related to Gibraltar,” a Gibraltar statement said.
“Gibraltar remains the best jurisdiction in the world from which to do well regulated, reputable online gaming business – and is the only jurisdiction guaranteed access to the United Kingdom market in online gaming going forward.”
Bet365 last year signed a promise of sale agreement worth €70m to acquire a large part of a new property development on the Tigné peninsula in Sliema.