Once again, regulatory disruptions are wreaking havoc with revenue, and this time, The Stars Group is enduring the brunt of the negative repercussions. The Canadian brand, which is the global parent of both SkyBet and PokerStars, has announced that it has no choice but to reduce staff at its Isle of Man office due to a significant slowdown in certain important areas of trade. The precise number of affected positions has not yet been confirmed, but it is estimated to be between 300 and 400.

In an effort to re-align the online casino and Poker group’s operations with current and projected future market trends, the decision to cut costs and embrace extreme and substantial optimisation initiatives was motivated by regulatory disruptions in primarily Russia, Norway, and Switzerland.

One-Fifth Of Group’s Personnel Let Go

The organization has verified that its Isle of Man office will continue to serve as a global iGaming operations hub. It asserted that, despite the fact that a significant staff reduction is far from ideal, the move is absolutely necessary and that, once the internal process has been completed, the affected office will be able to resume normal operations with no further disruptions anticipated in the near future.

The 400 affected employees account for roughly one-fifth of the group’s global payroll. At the end of the second quarter of the current year, the Toronto-listed company’s Poker revenue fell by at least 11.7%, with the overall situation made worse by a 5% decline in international user numbers.

Norway And Russia Are The Primary Offenders

Currency fluctuations exacerbate the negative effects of regulatory uncertainty and disruptions in the online wagering industry. However, payment-blocking systems in Norway and Russia set the decline in motion, and the group’s forced withdrawal from Switzerland and Slovakia accelerated the decline shortly thereafter. The Stars Group is also vigilant in its transactions with the Netherlands, where it has been referred to as everything but a “cowboy operator.”

Poker has encountered its fair share of difficulties, and global opinions regarding whether the game is primarily a game of skill or primarily a game of chance remain divided. Instead of tackling the decision head-on, many regulators have decided to take the easy way out by avoiding the formulation of appropriate legalisation and legalisation altogether.