PINK SLIPS
On Friday,
Tipp24 A.G. slashed 139 out of 154 jobs -- leaving just 15 employees at its headquarters in Hamburg due to Germany's Interstate Gambling Treaty.
In addition to cutting much of its work force, the online lottery broker also scaled back its executive board. Petra von Strombeck and Marcus Geiß will both retire from the board on March 31, the company said in a statement.
The state treaty, which was enacted on Jan. 1, 2008, forbids Tipp24 from conducting any form of lottery brokerage online in Germany. The company has since moved operations for its www.tipp24.com Web site to London.
Jens Schumann, the company’s chairman, said that the majority of cut jobs likely will be replaced by new ones abroad.
“It seems more likely that the state treaty is designed to eliminate private companies under the pretext of preventing addiction,” he added. “After all, controlling addiction would be much more effective via the Internet than at the lottery kiosk. We will therefore continue to take legal action against the new state treaty.”
Gibraltar companies are also cutting jobs. During the last month, more than 100 jobs have been cut in the region -- many coming specifically from the I-gaming sector.
According to the Gibraltar Panorama, an online newspaper, the gambling sector’s job market went from 1,803 to 1,699 in just one month after remaining static from October 2007 to August 2008. The newspaper confirmed PartyGaming’s workforce slipped from 317 to 227 and Mansion from 149 to 93 last month.
HAMPERED IN ‘08
While consolidated revenues were up 29 percent in 2008 for Intralot S.A., the Greece-based gaming technology and lottery supplier saw net profit sink by 55.3 percent, reports Reuters.
The company reported a net profit of 50.1 million euros -- missing a Reuters’ poll estimate of 94.6 million euros.
Intralot said that consolidated revenues were posted at more than 1 billion euros, which was a 28.9 percent year-over-year increase.
Constantinos G. Antonopoulos, the company’s chief executive, acknowledged the tough economic climate of 2008 in a company statement.
“Profitability was hampered in 2008, mainly due to the devaluation of foreign currencies that took place in many of the regions the company operates, a phenomenon that we believe does not pose concerns in the mid-term since it is temporary and, in many cases, politically driven,” Mr. Antonopoulos said.
He added that start-up expenses from new contracts also impacted Intralot’s bottom line.
SIGNING
After losing a contract renewal in Louisiana, Gtech Corporation announced a three-year extension with the Minnesota State Lottery on Monday.
Through the extension, the lottery provider, who has provided online services to the state lottery for seven years, expects to receive $25 million in revenues starting in February 2013.
Under the extension, Gtech said it will install its ES MultiMedia player messaging and transition display technology. This will allow the Minnesota State Lottery to manage, distribute and display multimedia content such as games, advertising and messaging through a single point of control, Gtech said.
The company said it will also install approximately 500 of Ticket-Scan self-service ticket checkers, which allow players secure access when identifying winning tickets.
C.E.O. TALK
Tim Howkins, IG Group Holdings’ chief executive discussed the current global markets, the disappointment in Japan and the spread betting operator’s desire to keep growing in an interview with The Telegraph.
The London company’s head said that although there is not an obvious target for expansion, IG Group sees a lot of potential around the globe.
“Most of them are not currently possible for regulatory purposes,” he told The Telegraph. “We are lobbying in Brazil, but it is a slow process. Regulators are probably more concerned now about keeping their banks stable.”