A Malta-based gaming company has been forced to sack half its staff in a bid to reduce costs, as stringent gambling regulation in Sweden begins to affect the industry.

“It is no understatement to say that the last three months have been the most turbulent and difficult in the history of Global Gaming,” CEO of Global Gaming Tobias Fagerlund wrote in the company’s interim report for January to June.

Despite efforts over the past months to achieve company targets, things took a turn for the worse on June 17th when the Swedish Gambling Authority withdrew the company’s gaming license.

“The Swedish Gambling Authority justified its decision citing serious deficiencies in the business in matters of responsible gaming and Anti Money Laundering measures. Those who have followed the extensive media coverage of the decision know that we do not share the Swedish Gambling Authority’s opinion and have therefore appealed it,” the CEO wrote.

“Whether one believes the decision to be correct or not, one cannot fail to see that it has enormous consequences for a group of companies like ours. The fact that our Maltese subsidiary is unable to conduct its Swedish operations causes great damages on so many levels. In one fell swoop, most of the group’s revenue was wiped out and, as a not unexpected direct consequence, reactions from suppliers and partners were not late in coming,” Fagerlund said, citing company auditor, KPMG which terminated their contract without any further explanation or notice.

Fagerlund said the group planned several changes moving forward.

He wrote: “We are reducing the number of people in the group by about 50%, which is expected to significantly affect costs accordingly. The technology organisation in Sweden will be completely shut down during the remainder of the year, and the organisation in Malta has already shrunk considerably.”

In fact, from a team of 190 people in the second quarter, Global Gaming is expected to reduce to about 90-100 people by the end of the year.

In conclusion, Fagerland promised the company would keep doing its utmost to bring things back to normal.

“The events of this spring and summer affect our business in every way, and we are now facing a challenge we have never faced before. Global Gaming has grown at an incredible pace over the past year, yet from where we stand today, we can only acknowledge that we too have made mistakes during the time we grew from a total newcomer to one of Sweden’s most recognisable brands. In the short term, it has been about damage control, cost control, and finding solutions to continue moving forward and creating the conditions for a return to profitability.”

“Despite the draconian measures and drastic organisational changes we are facing, we cannot fail to notice that, internally, our fighting spirit and will to prevail are very much alive, which in itself creates conditions we should not underestimate. The future will undoubtedly place great demands on us as an organisation, as well as on me as its CEO. We must live with the consequences of past mistakes but we can also learn and grow stronger because of them. What I can promise is that we will do our utmost to get back to profitability and growth – and I believe we’ll be successful,” he said.

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