Purple Lounge to be liquidated; Gibraltar to fight UK; Levy steps down from 888 board

purple gibraltar 888Online gaming site Purple Lounge will be liquidated following a decision by owners Media Corp that the site is no longer viable. Following the acquisition of Intabet and appointment of Adam Fraser-Harris and Phil Jackson as Interim CEO and Chairman respectively the decision was made that Purple Lounge is no longer sustainable due to “historic operational and financial failings”. As a result all staff have been made redundant and the next step will be how players get their money back. Media Corp’s release states the Board will explore ways to get players their money back – there is no cast-iron guarantee that they will see any of it though.

Gibraltar-registered firms have spent half a million quid on lawyers to help them fight changes to the UK’s online gambling industry regulations. eGR reports that almost all members (23 of 24) of the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) have paid £22,000 for the services of two experienced QCs with the aim of delaying the consumption tax plans. David Vaughan, of the Brick Court Chambers, and Kevin De Haan, QC with the Francis Taylor Building have both visited the rock in recent weeks and will present their findings in the near future. It was first reported that Gibraltar was one of those hiring lawyers during a session at the London Affiliate Conference in January.

888 Holdings have announced that former chief executive Gigi Levy has stepped down from the board with full effect. Levy, who had stayed on as a non-executive director, sat in the firm’s throne for four years until he quit to pursue other interests in April 2011. Levy, reportedly, got all pissed off after the firm couldn’t find a new bedroom friend despite trying to coax Ladbrokes and Playtech into an extra-marital affair. We wait with baited breathe for the 40-year-old’s next move.