Lottoland employees based at the company’s Gibraltar head office are currently being consulted on a proposed round of redundancies affecting the site.
Nigel Birrell, group CEO, confirmed the development, describing the process as a proposed “organisational restructure.”
The potential job cuts have been linked to what the company calls “significant regulatory and commercial developments” that are having a “material impact on the company’s profitability.”
No timeline has been established for when the consultation process is expected to conclude, leaving staff in a state of uncertainty.
Lottoland operates offices across multiple locations worldwide, but its primary markets are concentrated in Europe, where it holds licences in Gibraltar, the UK, Malta, Ireland and Germany.
Birrell clarified the scope of the proposals, stating directly that “the proposals will only affect our Gibraltar office,” sparing staff in other locations from the immediate threat.
The company’s Gibraltar office currently employs over 270 people according to its website, though Birrell has not confirmed how many positions are at risk of being cut.
Lottoland has also not identified which specific departments will bear the brunt of the redundancies, with Birrell only noting that a number of roles across the business may be affected.
Birrell sought to reassure those involved, stating: “Our priority is to support our people throughout the consultation process, and we are committed to consulting with employees openly, fairly and in line with all relevant legal requirements.”
The company has indicated it expects no impact on its products or customers as a result of the restructuring process.
The specific regulatory and commercial pressures driving the decision have not been explicitly named by Lottoland, though several significant developments are known to have affected the business recently.
The UK government’s autumn budget introduced gambling taxation reforms that have since drawn strong opposition from operators who warned precisely about the risk of job losses.
Lottoland’s online casino operation has exposed the business to the 40% remote gaming duty that came into force in the UK from 1 April 2026.
The operator’s online sportsbook also means it faces an upcoming increase in remote betting duty, rising from 15% to 25%, scheduled to take effect in April 2027.
Birrell framed the restructuring as a necessary step, telling NEXT.io the process was aimed at ensuring the business could “better align the business with the changing environment.”
A damaging European court ruling earlier this year has added further legal and financial pressure to Lottoland’s situation across the continent.
In April, Lottoland lost a case in which judges ruled that Germany retained the right to ban online slot machines and lottery betting regardless of whether an operator held an EU licence, such as that granted by the Malta Gaming Authority.
The case was brought by a player who claimed to have lost stakes via Lottoland in Germany between 2019 and 2021, during a period when such a ban was already in place in the country.
The ruling has raised broad questions about legal liability for operators across Europe and is likely to have prompted many to reconsider their exposure in certain markets.
