Japanese Owners of GPI to Axe 80 Jobs EMEA
Te Japanese owners of Angel France, a subsidiary of Gaming Partners Int. (formerly Bourgogne & Grasset), plan to lay off 80 employees out of 105
Gaming Partners International said it had been hit with “three blows of the hammer: the economy, Covid- 19 and a cyberattack.”
FRANCE CASINO SUPPLIERS
Italy - IGT sell Italian B2C division to Gamenet IGT's wholly-owned subsidiary Lottomatica Holding has signed a definitive agreement to sell Lottomatica Videolot and Lottomatica Scommesse, the members of the IGT group which conduct its Italian B2C gaming machine, sports betting, and digital gaming businesses, to Gamenet Group, a subsidiary of funds managed by an affiliate of Apollo Global Management.
"The transaction enables IGT to monetise its leadership positions in the Italian B2C gaming machine, sports betting, and digital spaces at an attractive multiple to comparable Italian transactions, providing us with enhanced financial flexibility," said Marco Sala, CEO of IGT.
"Aligning with our recent reorganisation, the favorable rebalancing of our business and geographic mix reframes and simplifies our priorities while improving the Company's future profit margin, cash flow generation, and debt profile."
Malta - EveryMatrix inks Big Time content deal EveryMatrix has entered a content distribution agreement with Big Time Gaming. The content will be delivered via an integration between CasinoEngine and Relax Gaming. The suppliers’ content will be distributed to EveryMatrix’s network of casino operators via CasinoEngine. Target markets include Estonia, Latvia, Malta, Romania, Sweden, UK, Germany, and Spain.
Nik Robinson, CEO of Big Time Gaming, commented: “We are thrilled to have entered into a partnership with EveryMatrix and see our content on its CasinoEngine platform. Our games are popular the world over and we’re always really excited to forge new relationships that will give our games a whole new audience.”
Italy - CT Gaming Int. seals Aresway deal CT Gaming Interactive has signed a commercial deal with the Italian based company Aresway which offers omnichannel technology products. The agreement will see the provider`s most popular slots integrated with the Italian company`s platform GAS – Gaming Aggregator System. Developed with the player’s experience in mind, the CT Gaming Interactive slot games have varied themes, mechanics and features to ensure having the right game for everyone.
“We look forward to working with Aresway and envisage a great partnership ahead”, said Lachezar Petrov, General Manager at CT Gaming Interactive.
The collaboration between both companies is in sync with the provider’s strategy for growth in regulated markets and ensures its further positioning in the Italian iGaming market.
P10 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA
Te Japanese owners of Angel France, a French subsidiary of Gaming Partners International corporation (GPIC (formerly Bourgogne & Grasset),want to lay off 80 employees out of 105. Angel Holdings has presented staff with a collective redundancy plan, which for economic reasons affects 80 of the 105 employees at its two sites in Savigny-les-Beaune and of Vignoles (Côte d'Or). It was in Beaune that the Bourgogne & Grasset company was born in 1911, when it began supplying casinos with tokens or plaques printed on celluloid sheets. Te company continued to grow, buying in 2000 the Bud Jones companies and in 2002 Paulson, based in Las Vegas, establishing its headquarters in the US and transforming itself into Gaming Partners International Corporation.
Two years ago, on November 27, 2018, GPIC announced that it had entered into a merger agreement with Angel Holdings Godo Kaisha, based in Yokohama, Japan, under which Angel would acquire the American company for $110m. Te operation was completed in May 2019. Te Japanese director of the company told employees about the collective dismissal plan on December 3. An employment safeguard plan (PSE) has already been sent to elected staff. Tis plan would provide for a relocation to Japan of
the manufacture of European plates and tokens as well as the manufacture of American tokens. Currently employees work in groups, one week out of four. Angel France is believed to be keeping its Burgundy sites open.
Emmanuel Gelinotte, Executive Director of Angel France, said the company had “taken three blows of the hammer: the economy, Covid-19 and a cyberattack. Our products and traditional casino games are reorienting themselves on technology. Te market is difficult and the health crisis has accelerated the phenomenon. In Macau, where we make between 76 per cent and 96 per cent of our annual turnover, casino activity has collapsed by 82 per cent in the first months of 2020.”
Te cyberattack dates back to just over a month. A group of Russian hackers, using REvil-type ransomware, announced in a statement on Saturday, October 31, that they had stolen 540 Gb of highly sensitive data from GPI: financial documents, contracts and technical documentation. Te hacker group would give the company 72 hours to pay a ransom, otherwise threatening to publish the information they held. It has not been made public how this cyberattack was resolved.
Europe ECA joins forces with Lotteries and Tote Alliance
Te European Casino Association (ECA), the European Lotteries (EL) and the World Tote Association (WTA) joined their voices in the Alliance Against Illegal Gambling to support the upcoming Digital Services Act package of the European Commission, which will modernise the rules to tackle illegal online content through its notice-and-action mechanism.
Te Digital Services Act is an important step in the fight against illegal online gambling, which represents a threat to the safety of all players in Europe. Furthermore, illegal gambling undermines the efforts of licensed providers on consumer protection and anti- money laundering requirements.
Illegal providers do not pay the due taxes in the country where the consumers are located, therefore they do not contribute to any possible public good. In addition,
they trigger unfair competition with legal gambling operators, jeopardising their legal business models and the substantial economic and social impact they provide to EU member states. Lastly, they do not offer any kind of support to problem gamblers, unlike legal operators that strive to protect vulnerable players.
Per Jaldung, ECA Chairman, commented, “We strongly believe that a greater convergence amongst relevant stakeholders of the EU gambling industry is crucial to tackle common and crucial issues such as illegal gambling. Te Alliance aims to raise awareness and work together with policymakers to address it effectively. By bringing together our voices, we can provide a key support in protecting consumers across Europe. Additionally, we fully embrace the Digital Services Act package.”
South Africa
IGT has replaced a competitor’s system with its Advantage Casino Management System at the newly reopened Carousel Casino in North West Province, South Africa, which now features the country’s first- ever deployment of the IGT Advantage Resort Wallet carded cashless module.
“We selected the IGT for the Carousel re-launch due to its proven stability, user-friendly configuration, and ability to automate more parts of the business, which frees our staff to focus on delivering a superior gaming experience to patrons,” said Mario Morfou, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Lakama Resorts and Casino. “In addition, IGT’s on-the-ground support team implemented the new system flawlessly within a compressed timeframe”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94
