Stars Group Sheds Jobs as It Prepares for Flutter Tie-Up

Canadian gambling giant The Stars Group is understood to be shedding jobs at its Dublin office ahead of its merger with Irish rival Flutter Entertainment.

The Irish Times reports that The Stars has been cutting jobs at its Cherrywood, Co Dublin office for the past 12-15 months in a bid to cut costs. According to sources, the number of jobs has dropped to about 260 from just under 330 a year ago.

It has also emerged that one group of customer service employees has been put on protective notice and informed that their jobs are likely to be cut in late 2020.

Some of the affected employees have been laid off while others were informed that their jobs would be phased out and were offered new positions within the gambling group.

In addition, workers who choose not to be part of the ongoing job-cutting are not replaced at The Stars’ Dublin office. Instead, the company has been focused on growing its workforce at its offices in Bulgaria and India.

The Stars has explained that while Dublin “remains an important hub for the business,” it has initiated a job-cutting process to reduce costs resulting from the poorer performance of its PokerStars brand in the past year or so. The job cuts are being conducted independent of the Canadian group’s planned merger with Dublin-headquartered Flutter Entertainment.

Merger Progress

Flutter and The Stars announced their tie-up last fall. The two companies are set to combine into what would be one of the largest online gambling groups in the world with presence across the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

The £10 billion merger is expected to close in the second quarter of the year, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.

The deal needs approval from competition watchdogs in key markets where Flutter and The Stars operate. The UK Competition and Markets Authority recently instigated a review into the proposed merger and whether it would harm competition in the local gambling space.

Last month, the proposed combination was granted informal approval by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. However, it needs to be given the green light by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board and other Australian regulators.

The enlarged group will be headquartered in Dublin and Flutter will own 54.64% of it, while The Stars is set to get 45.36%. Flutter’s current CEO, Peter Jackson, will step in as the combined gambling operator’s Chief.

The Flutter-Stars tie-up would bring major gambling brands Paddy Power, Betfair, FanDuel, Sky Betting & Gaming, FOX Bet, PokerStars, Sportsbet, and BetEasy, among others, under the same roof. Many of these brands hold leading positions in the lucrative US, UK, and Australian gambling markets.

Source: Canadian gambling group cuts jobs in Dublin ahead of planned €12bn merger

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