Tombola was acquired by Flutter in January 2022 for £402.0m (€463.6m/$488.7m), following an initial announcement in November 2021.
Last week, reports alleged that the redundancies stemmed from cost-saving efforts being implemented at the online bingo company. Today (16 October), a Tombola spokesperson confirmed to iGB that around 250 jobs are at risk. However, they added that there will be opportunities for redeployment, particularly in the North East.
Tombola also confirmed that those at risk are in its customer experience team, which comprises the chat, customer support and safeplay teams.
Redundancies across the industry have ramped up in the last year. Most recently, fellow betting giant Entain confirmed reports of redundancies across its Australian business. This came after reports that it had “axed more than 50” jobs. In August, Catena Media announced that it was to sell its UK and Australian online sports betting brands to Moneta Communications in a €6.0m deal – and added that it would consult on redundancies in the UK and Malta.
Earlier this year, Bally’s confirmed it was to cut 15% of its workforce in its North America interactive division, as part of a restructuring plan.
Ongoing development in the North East
In a statement, the spokesperson said those employees would now undergo a consultation process with the company.
“Today we have communicated a number of proposed changes to our customer service teams following an extensive operational review,” said the spokesperson. “As a result, a number of colleagues will now take part in a formal consultation process that will include significant opportunities for redeployment within the business, but will also unfortunately lead to a number of redundancies.
“The colleagues involved in this process have been informed and our priority is to support them and their teams through this period of change.”
Tombola emphasised a continued commitment to the North East of England, stating that Sunderland will remain its head office.
“Tombola is a progressive and widely recognised leader in customer protection, which include max stakes of £2 for all our online bingo and arcade games,” the spokesperson continued. “We are also deeply proud of our role as a key employer in the North East and Sunderland, with plans to continue investing in the region in the future.”
Despite the potential redundancies, since Flutter’s takeover Tombola’s employee numbers have improved. Tombola ended 2021 with a headcount of 769 and a UK headcount of 629. Today – post-acquisition by Flutter – its overall headcount is 847, with the UK headcount at 706.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/strategy/estimated-250-jobs-at-risk-at-tombola/
