Gala Coral to close Eurobet.com
Operator will keep dot.it business and retain focus on UK-facing Coral sportsbook.
Gala Coral is set to cease trading using the Eurobet.com brand from the end of this month, the operator revealed today.
An email has been sent out to customers encouraging them to take their money off the dot.com site, although a spokesman for the company confirmed to eGaming Review that “All ante-post bets will be honoured and payments will be made at the relevant times”.
He added that the Eurobet.it business will be unaffected by the “strategic decision” which comes in response to regulatory changes in Eurobet.com’s core markets of Spain and Greece.
“The Italian operations will remain unaffected. Eurobet.it is separate and fully licensed in Italy, where we also have a high-street presence,” explained the spokesman.
The email distributed to customers informed them that the dot.com site would close “at 5pm on September 30th, 2011,” adding that “Our other websites remain unaffected by this decision.”
As well as the regulated dot.it site, Gala Coral will put much of its focus towards the Coral.co.uk sportsbook, which is set to add a multi-currency function in the near future.
Greek egaming legislation was fast-tracked into law in August, while Spain’s new gaming law was published in the country’s official gazette at the end of May.
The spokesperson for the company admitted that these two countries represent “where the lion’s share of [dot.com] customers are from.”
Gala Coral recently made two senior appointments, bringing in former HBOS CEO Andy Hornby as MD of Coral and ex-Ladbrokes head of online John O’Reilly as MD of interactive.