Entain has confirmed that it is preparing to slash some 500 jobs under an initiative led by the company’s new chief financial officer, Michael Snape. The company firmly denied the notion that these cuts have been spurred by the difficulties faced by the British gaming sector.
Entain Braces for a Set of Layoffs
In an interview with gaming news outlet NEXT.io, Entain representatives confirmed that it is preparing for the aforementioned set of layoffs in an attempt to bolster its efficiency and agility. As mentioned, the initiative is being led by CFO Snape, who took over the role in March.
Entain furthermore clarified that the layoffs will affect players across multiple corporate function areas. The company noted that certain people in finance and governance, as well as members of the product and tech teams, will be affected, too.
A spokesperson told NEXT.io that these are organizational changes that align with Entain’s pursuit of enhanced efficiency. While they regretted that this is going to impact multiple people over the next few months, the spokesperson argued that the emerging Entain will be a “stronger, better business” with enhanced value maximization capabilities.
Entain confirmed that it is currently consulting with everyone affected to support them during the process.
As mentioned, Entain denied that the layoffs have been prompted by the regulatory shifts in the UK. For reference, the UK gaming industry has been facing difficulties due to new safer gaming standards and sweeping tax reforms.
In other news, Entain just became the latest company in the United Kingdom to support the idea of a government-led plan to ban unlicensed gambling companies from sponsoring sports teams.
Since the government has already recognized the negative impact of the promotion of illegal gambling, Entain urged it to act quickly and address the issue.
The black market has been one of the hot topics of British gaming, with many operators and organizations encouraging the government to take stricter action. The BGC previously stated that the black market is catching up to its legal counterpart and that over-regulation can undermine legal companies’ ability to compete.