Scientific Games have been forced to appoint a new managing director for their gaming division after the current one left to “pursue other opportunities”. Andrew Ludlow, co-founder of Games Media, will leave at the end of April and be replaced by Chris Sullivan who will take the reigns of the department that encompasses Barcrest and Games Media’s pub, bingo, and arcade businesses. Steve Frater, executive chairman of the Gaming division, said: “Chris brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience of both gaming and leisure operations, having held senior positions with The Noble Organisation, Crown Leisure, Pontins, Leisure Parcs, Harry Ramsden’s, Starbucks, Balls Brothers, Whitbread and Scottish & Newcastle. Chris has an impressive track record and we are confident he will provide exceptional leadership as we move forward with our core strategies.”
Italian operator Snai saw gambling industry revenues drop by 1.5 percent with a lack of sports events and Italy’s struggling horse racing sector to blame. Revenue in 2011 dropped to €558.5 million from last year’s €566.9 million with video lottery terminals the only plus (EBITDA up 16.5 percent to €74.7 million). Snai remains the market leader in sports and horserace wagering but even here there was a fall in wagers placed of 14.5 percent to €1.4 billion.
Spanish based marketing company Cmedia has released a social poker offering on Facebook. Soda Poker targets Spanish, French and Italian speaking players and has been developed in partnership with Viaden Gaming. The game also gives players the opportunity to purchase virtual credits on Facebook to play higher stakes games.
