Hundreds of Entain employees are at risk of redundancy as the operator streamlines its commercial operating structure.
The restructure, which is being overseen by Entain chief commercial officer (CCO) Dominic Grounsell, will see Entain switch from a brand-led strategy to a regional strategy.
Under the existing set-up, each Entain portfolio brand includes a team of managers across CRM, marketing, business intelligence and analytics. The business has operated this way for decades, since it was originally established as bwin.party.
However, iGaming NEXT understands the new structure will be based on geography, leading to a duplication of senior roles and the increased likelihood of job losses.
Entain’s offices in Vienna, Austria and Lisbon, Portugal are expected to feel the impacts of the reshuffle, with some staff being invited to reapply for their current positions.
There are currently four pages of open vacancies displayed on the company’s Vienna jobs board, none of which relate to commercial or marketing roles.
Gibraltar
iGaming NEXT has learned that Entain’s digital marketing roles in Gibraltar across PPC, SEO and programmatic are also at risk.
Staff were told the current headcount is too high during internal meetings this week.
The Rock is currently home to Entain brands including Coral, Foxy, Gala and PartyPoker.
London
Entain’s operating structure in London has also changed.
The firm’s One New Change office, situated in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral, is no longer open. The office phone number listed on Entain’s website now automatically redirects to Gibraltar.
Entain signed a 10-year lease for the sought-after location in 2013 which expired earlier this year. Sources have suggested that renewal rates were deemed too high to justify, with the company keeping an increasingly close eye on costs in recent quarters.
One New Change was home to many different business functions, including more than 80 poker employees, according to a floorplan seen by iGaming NEXT.
The building also played host to casino, legal, finance, digital marketing, HR, corporate affairs and investor relations staff, and some C-levels, including CFO and deputy CEO Rob Wood.
Staff have since been relocated to the Ladbrokes Coral office in Stratford, East London, while others have moved to a new location in Nottingham.
“As a global business that continues to grow organically and through M&A, we are constantly evolving to ensure that we are positioned as strongly as possible to capture the significant opportunities in front of us, as well as ensuring we continue to deliver the best offer to our customers,” said an Entain spokesperson when contacted for comment by iGaming NEXT.
Entain is due to report its H1 financial results on 10 August 2023.