Malta gaming industry: job cuts at PokerStars and Multilotto brands

Two firms have reported redundancies after being forced to restructure their cost base

Two gaming companies in Malta have started cutting jobs in moves described by their former employees as “unexpected”.

On Tuesday, online lottery betting operator Multilotto made at least 10 employees redundant – around half its Malta workforce – a measure the company said was “a result of the surrender of its UKGC and MGA licences”.

It is understood that 10 to 15 employees lost their jobs, each receiving a letter signed by Multilotto CEO Christian Hellbjer that confirmed their position was no longer needed:

“The purpose of this letter is to confirm the outcome of a recent review by the Board of Directors of The Multi Group Ltd of its operational requirements, and what this means to you. As a result of surrender of UKGC licence and MGA licence [sic], the position of [job title] is no longer needed. Regrettably this means your employment will terminate.”

Another Malta-based company that has cut jobs is the Stars Group, following redundancies in its Isle of Man offices. The Stars Group owns the world-famous brand PokerStars. At least 50 members of staff have already been axed, according to press reports.

Stars first opened in in 2012, eventually growing its workforce to over 300 employees, with its new headquarters in Malta opened in 2017 by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

At that same time, the Multi Group – owned of the Multilotto brand – was being acquired by Chinese lottery solutions provider 500.com for a reported €50 million.

CEO Christian Hellbjer told Casinobeats.com that the company was restructuring and scaling down workforce. “Unfortunately this meant that we had to make several roles within our company redundant,” adding there were “no further plans of more redundancies”.