Retail

Finland’s Economic Committee has announced the appointment of Olli Sarekoski as new Chief Executive of state-owned gambling enterprise Veikkaus. This month the committee had informed that state-owned gambling assets RAY, Fintoto and Veikkaus would operate under the principal brand of ‘Veikkaus’, following 2015s decision to merge all enterprises under a single entity. Promoted to CEO of Veikkaus, Sarekoski has held numerous executive positions …

Vermantia has announced that it has been accepted as an Associate Member of the European Lotteries Association. The company, which provides Virtual and Live Sports content to licensed operators and lotteries, joins a list of members which includes Novomatic, Playtech and Intralot. As an associate member, Vermantia has committed to promoting the dynamic and sustainable gaming model for the benefit …

Norway state-owned gambling operator Norsk Tipping has confirmed the appointment of Asne Havnelid as its new Chief Executive replacing Torbjørn Almlid who announced his departure in March. Havnelid takes over leadership of Norsk Tipping, having held the position of Secretary General for the Norwegian Red Cross for the past five years. Norsk Tipping governance stated that Havenelid would take over …

Sports betting supplier SBTech has been granted a B2B Class 2 Software Provider License by the National Gambling Office in Romania.  Romania is the latest regulated European market to license SBTech, which allows the company to continue expanding its existing portfolio of awarded permits in numerous regulated markets such as UK, Ireland, Portugal, and more. Localised sportsbook offerings and unrivalled …

Work will soon begin on a new 71-story hotel and casino complex in Sydney, after Australian mogul James Packer won approval for the building from NSW’s Planning Assessment Commission (PAC). This was the final planning process hurdle for Packer, who won the rights to build the Crown Resorts complex after a bidding war with The Star Casino in 2012, and …

Seeking to bolster its customer service operations, Rank Group Plc has confirmed the appointment of UK CS veteran Liam Smith to the newly created role of Director of Customer Contact. Smith who joins the casino operator from customer service outsourcing specialist Contact Center Managed Services, will report directly to Darren Moffett Rank’s Director of Customer Operations. Updating the market, Rank …

Australian gambling operator Tatts Group (Tatts), has confirmed the sale of its UK slots division Talarius to Novomatic Group for AUS $210 million (£116 million). Updating the market, Tatts governance informed that proceeds from the sale would be used to pay down its corporate debt, as the company targets year-end profits of AUS $255 – 265 million, performing slightly under …

\ Five of Atlantic City’s eight casinos are in fear of operational havoc if union Unite-HERE ‘Local 54’ forces a worker strike on 1 July. Representing a workforce of 10,000 members, the union is seeking employee benefits and compensation by Caesars Entertainment casinos Bally’s, Caesars and Harrahs and the Carl Icahn gambling enterprises of the Taj Mahal and The Tropicana. …

The UK’s EU referendum may have left the bookmaking industry scrambling for position, but Michal Kopec of Better Collective thinks that the industry will soon recover from the shock Brexit result. Michael, who is Senior Business Manager for the company, also commented on the plummeting British pound in the immediate aftermath of the result, and the effect on Gibraltar based operators, who …