SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Italian news sources have reported that Ian McLoughlin has stepped down as Chief Executive of SKS365 Group, the operating company of ‘PlanetWin365’ Italy’s second largest retail and online bookmaker.
McLoughlin’s departure is further followed by the resignation of Angela Gemma as General Counsel of SKS365 and the exit of Aaron Meli as Group Financial Controller. The company has quickly instigated several changes within its management team, rewarding some of the people who it says have had a fundamental role in the ‘transformational performance’ of 2018.
The new look management team is:
- Francesco Gaziano as Chief Marketing Officer
- Jim Parkins as Chief Product and Technology Officer
- Brian Dean as Chief People Officer
- Troy Cox as Chief Commercial Officer
The company said: “SKS365 team will continue to work delivering the best sports betting and gaming experience for customers and reflecting regularized corporate values: honesty, integrity, transparency. As done in the past, the company confirm the open and transparent relationship with the authorities and will collaborate in the fight against illegal gaming.”
Of the departures, SKS365 said: “CFO Aaron Meli has chosen to move to an advisory role and will continue to provide consultancy support on the immediate priority projects on the finance agenda. He has built a strong finance team, which will be able to support the continued growth of the business. The company would like to thank all three for the tremendous work they have done in taking SKS365 through a new era, creating a solid platform on which the company can now build.”
McLoughlin and Gemma are reported to have cooperated fully with Italian police’s ongoing ‘Galassia investigation’, which last November saw a joint federal-and-financial taskforce arrest sixty-eight suspects on charges of corruption and fraud.
SKS365 and further Italian licensed bookmakers have been implicated in Italy’s biggest AML investigation, as the police task force has revealed that Mafia networks used bookmaker services as ‘money laundering vehicles’.
In relation to SKS365 Group, Italian police have previously clarified that their investigation is focused on the previous management of the company, operated by the holding company SkS365 Malta (timeframe 2015-2017).
Nevertheless, the ramifications of the ‘Galassia investigation’, are far-reaching. Closing 2019, governing Lega-5star ministers demanded that Treasury Minister Giovanni Tria conduct an immediate investigation of Italian gambling regulator – Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM).
In its order to the Treasury, Lega-5Star demand that ADM’s auditing and licensing systems be reviewed, stating that the ADM’s reputation and trademark have been tarnished by the AML investigations.
