Gibraltar operators double down on the Rock following bet365 departure

Gibraltar-based operators have restated their commitment to the Rock following news of bet365’s move to Malta last week.

Representatives from the likes of Lottoland, Rank Group and BetVictor doubled down on their commitment to the island and highlighted open roles in their businesses for any staff looking to stay in Gibraltar.

Lottoland took out an advert in a local newspaper and sent out a statement on social media declaring: “Gibraltar is our home and we’re here to stay”.

Lottoland CEO Nigel Birrell said in the ad: “Over the last six year Gibraltar has provided us the truly perfect setting in which to innovate, grow our business and build a truly cosmopolitan workforce

“We continue to be one of the fastest growing businesses in Gibraltar and Europe and are rock solid in our position that Gibraltar remains the bets jurisdiction in the world to run our business.”

The ad also directed people to Lottoland’s careers website.

Rank also posted on LinkedIn, saying: “Our teams at The Rank Group plc are sorry to hear of the sad news affecting bet365 employees in Gibraltar. We have a large digital operation in Gibraltar; we’re proud of our success of our teams and the culture we’ve created. We would be happy to talk through some of the roles we have available and see whether we can re-home you.”

BetVictor’s head of product Eoin Ryan also posted on LinkedIn saying the operator was 100% committed to Gibraltar and hiring.

Bet365 announced the shift of its operations to Malta last week and pledged to maintain “a presence” in Gibraltar, although this is expected to be below 20 staff once the full employee consultation has been carried out.

The current office houses more than 500.

All Gib staff were offered relocation packages.