Staff at the Gibraltar branch of the PartyGaming operation were yesterday told that 80 roles out of some 332 currently in place will go following the US decision to ban online gaming
The company has confirmed that they have identified 80 roles that will now be abolished although they expect to retain some of these employees through redeployment in new vacancies. John Shepherd the spokesman for the company in London said that the company had reviewed its operations in the wake of the 'illogical and unnecessary prohibition' introduced by the United States and that had tried to minimise the redundancies now likely to involve some 55 jobs. The company said that it was following all procedures required by Gibraltar law. Last week the company announced 800 redundancies in its branch in India but over the past three days had been able to find jobs for 320 of these through a programme of links with leading international companies with centres in India such as HSBC, Deloitte and CFC. LADBROKES/888
Meanwhile, shares in gaming group 888 Holdings surged yesterday as investors reacted to the possibility of a £470 million takeover by high street bookie Ladbrokes. The stock was up by more than 8% after Ladbrokes confirmed Sunday night that it was in the early stages of talks with 888. The statement by Ladbrokes followed earlier speculation that 888 was in merger talks with Party Poker rival PartyGaming. Last week, 888 admitted it was in discussions with other firms over a possible deal as the sector looked to recover from the ban on internet gambling in the United States. Although 888 refused to name who it was in talks with, it was widely speculated that a £1.6 billion merger with PartyGaming was a realistic option. But according to the Mail on Sunday, 888 founders and majority shareholders Avi and Aharon Shaked want to establish ties with a conventional gambling company rather than another online casino. Ladbrokes executives, including boss Chris Bell, were thought to be in Tel Aviv this weekend for talks with the Israeli brothers who currently own 51.2% of 888. It is thought that if a deal with Ladbrokes goes through they could become the largest private investors in the bookie, which is valued at £2.5 billion. John Anderson, who is chief executive of 888, is a former Ladbrokes executive and is said to have retained close ties with former colleagues.
The online gaming sector was rocked early last month when the US passed a controversial bill which effectively outlawed internet gambling. Shares in the sector crashed, although 888 fared better than most - down 25% - as it was not as heavily reliant on the US for business as rivals such as PartyGaming. And the fall in share price has made it attractive to Ladbrokes as the industry braces itself for a round of consolidation, particularly as big players look at rivals with a strong European or Asian presence. The statement from Ladbrokes did not mention a price for 888 Holdings, although experts believe it could be worth in the region of £470 million. The Daily Telegraph quoted one gaming analyst who said a bidding war could drive the company's value to around £540 million.
source : www.chronicle.gi
