Global Gaming nets new Malta CEO
Online operator promotes current head of compliance Petter Fagrell to executive role
Global Gaming has promoted head of compliance Petter Fagrell to become CEO of its Malta operations with immediate effect.
Fagrell was appointed to replace Mark Wadsworth who has now left the company. A former Betsson executive, Wadsworth had also been serving as COO and CPO for the business, having initially joined as a director in 2017.
EGR understands the COO and CPO roles will not be filled at present due to the coronavirus pandemic, with duties being spread out among remaining executives.
Fagrell has been working as Global Gaming’s head of compliance since July 2019, having previously served as a compliance executive for the business between April and July 2019.
A qualified lawyer, Fagrell has primarily been working within Global Gaming’s Swedish office in Malmö, dealing with the fallout from its Swedish gambling licence revocation. He will now transfer to the Malta office as part of this promotion.
Global Gaming CEO Tobias Fagerlund hailed the appointment of Fagrell, adding that he had handled the “very complex” issues which the business had encountered over the last year.
“He will be an excellent representative of our operational activities, and I am sure he is the right person to lead the change work that remains in Malta and our work towards growth and new markets. I look forward to working with him in his new role,” said Fagerlund.
Elsewhere, Fagerlund denied Global Gaming was still accepting Swedish customers under its Ninja Casino brand, which no longer has a Swedish licence.
Last week, a Copenhagen Economics report on Swedish market channelisation suggested Ninja Casino still operated with a 12% market share.
“I want to make it crystal clear that is not the case. We do not accept Swedish customers and have not done so since the SGA announced its decision almost a year ago,” said Fagerlund.
“The revocation of our licence is tried in court and we will have a verdict in due time. We will not be active in Sweden before the courts have given us our licence back,” he added.
Releasing its financial results for the first quarter of 2020, Global Gaming confirmed GGR had decreased by 64% year-on-year to SEK57.8m. However, operating losses narrowed during Q1 2020, from a Q1 2019 high of SEK43.3m to just SEK0.4m.
During Q1, Global Gaming soft-launched a new online casino brand, Boost Casino, in the group’s existing markets. The operator has said it plans to expand Boost Casino and Ninja Casino to at least three new markets before year-end.
Addressing the impact of Covid-19, Fagerlund confirmed the launch of Global Gaming’s first sports betting brand will now be postponed until the autumn, having been slated for launch in the summer.