In a move that has been seen as an unexpected one, the online betting operator, Multilotto, has made at least ten employees redundant, which equates to around half if its Malta workforce – a measure that the company has described as “a result of the surrender of its UKGC and MGA licences”.
While being shocked at the job losses, one former employee told Casino Beats. “Nobody saw it coming,”. Another source came to call the Multilotto move “absolutely disgusting”.
It has been found that around ten to 15 employees have come to lose their jobs, with each person receiving a personally signed letter from Multilotto CEO Christian Hellbjer, where it confirmed their position was no longer needed. One employee said they felt “forced” to sign the letter, resulting in them accepting its terms.
The individually addressed letter to affected employees read:
“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.”
In June 2017, an announcement hit that the Chinese lottery solutions provider 500.com was to acquire a majority stake in The Multi Group, operator of the Multilotto brand, for a reported €50m.
In January 2019, Hellbjer was received a promotion up to the position of CEO, after her joined the Multi Group from university as financial controller, to then eventually take on the position of CFO.
Speaking to CasinoBeats, Hellbjer wrote in an email: “I can confirm that we are doing a restructuring at the moment and are scaling down our workforce.
“Unfortunately this meant that we had to make several roles within our company redundant,” he continues, where he went on to add that there are currently “no further plans of more redundancies”.
After being questioned input the .co.uk and .com operations, licensed respectively by the UKGC and the MGA, while still continuing to be live while accepting bets, Hellbjer stated: “We always put our customers first and have taken all necessary precautions to protect their interests.
“Once we come to a date with the regulators regarding our exit, our customers will have the chance to withdraw their funds in a timely manner.”
