STEPPING DOWN Ladbrokes announced today that Sir Ian Robinson, chairman for eight years, has notified the company that he will be stepping down after its annual general meeting, which is set for May 15, 2009.
On Jan. 1, the company said, Peter Erskine, former chief executive of O2 and board member of Telefónica S.A., will join the board as a non-executive director. After Sir Ian steps down, Mr. Erskine will replace him as chairman in mid-2009.
During Sir Ian’s tenure at Ladbrokes, the company said it achieved a significant increase in gross win and also extended its retail presence to Italy and Spain.
”On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Sir Ian for his valuable contribution over the past eight years,” said Christopher Bell, chief executive of Ladbrokes. “Peter Erskine's extensive international marketing background and experience of building brand-led businesses will be a big plus for the company.”
RESIGNING Montreal-based Dynasty Gaming Inc. announced on Tuesday that Dominic Chan and Yat-sang Kwong had resigned from the company's board of directors.
Albert Barbusci, chief executive of Dynasty, said the two board members resigned for “personal reasons.”
”Both had recently joined our board, and we thank them for their services over the past few difficult months and wish them the very best for the future," Mr. Barbusci said in a prepared statement.
In early November, the company, best known for its online game “Mahjong Mania,” announced that it had been unsuccessful in completing a proposed private placement of $30 million because of “the serious problems affecting the worldwide financial markets.”
BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR? The Times reports that Gala Coral Group’s chief executive, Dominic Harrison, believes that the bingo market will plateau after its slowdown in 2008.
“We're predicting a modest increase in bingo next year,” the newspaper quoted Mr. Harrison as saying.
According to The Times, the gambling operator has closed 13 bingo clubs and four casinos since the United Kingdom smoking ban.
In mid-November, The Financial Times reported that Gala Coral had merged its bingo and casino division as well as its Coral betting shops with its Italian Eurobet shops.
ICEi UPDATE Visitors to ICEi, the remote gaming sector within the 2009 International Gaming Expo, will be part of a record-breaking event, according to Clarion Gaming.
The event organizer said that, this year, ICEi will feature more exhibitors from more jurisdictions, and the event will occupy more stand space than at any time in the event’s history. The international business-to-business event will be 40 percent larger than in 2008 and 75 percent bigger than in 2007, according to the company.
Big-name exhibitors will include Playtech Ltd., Cryptologic Ltd.,, Microgaming Software Systems Ltd., Boss Media A.B., WorldMatch, A-Bet-A Technology Ltd., Ongame Network Ltd., Synot Tip, Net Entertainment A.B. and Chartwell Games among many others. Some of this year’s newcomers are Global Collect, Inside Poker Business, Ivobank, Visionary iGaming and Vodafone Malta.
“Online is most certainly the gambling platform of the moment,” said Charlotte Skinner, marketing manager for Clarion Gaming, in a prepared statement. “Respected observers and analysts including the Financial Times, William Hill chief executive Ralph Topping and market intelligence provider Key Note have all referred to online gambling as a strong driver of growth.”
Ms. Skinner believes that the heightened interest in online gaming will be manifest in the show’s attendance figures, which in 2008 attracted 2,861 unique I-gaming professionals from 68 jurisdictions.
“Combined with the Google decision to allow online gambling adverts to be displayed in Britain as well as online’s reputation for being part of the recession-resilient home entertainment package, I would anticipate strong levels of interest in the exhibition and our pre-registration figures are reflecting this,” Ms. Skinner added. “The attendance figure at ICEi 2008 was 21 per cent up on 2007 and we are looking to build on that.”
For more information about ICEi, click here.
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