Leisure and Gaming

Leisure and Gaming plc

Company type	Public limited company
Industry	Holding company
Founded	August 2004; 20 years ago (2004-08)
Defunct	October 2010 (2010-10)
Fate	Administration due to insolvency
Headquarters	London , United Kingdom
Areas served	Europe United States (until October 2006)
Key people	Henry Birch (Director, 2004–2006 CEO, 2006 – August 2008) Richard Creed (CEO, August 2008–2010)
Subsidiaries	Betshop

Leisure and Gaming plc (also "L&G")^[1] was formerly a holding company based in London,^[2] and listed on the London Stock Exchange with major assents in the global interactive betting and gaming industry. Its interests spanned from software development to marketing.

History

L&G was incorporated in England and Wales in August 2004.^[3] Its registered holders are BNY Norwich Union Nominees Ltd, Chase GA Group Nominees Ltd, Chase Nominees Ltd, CUIM Nominee Ltd, and Vidacos Nominees Ltd.

L&G acquired Betshop, a European betting and gaming business, in 2006.^[4] In October 2006, immediately preceding passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006,^[4] the company sold its US-facing online gambling business to a private group for US$1,^[4][5] and no longer accepted wagers from US residents.^[6] The subsidiaries divested in this exit were Bon Bini, ECom ServCorp, English Harbour, Nine.com and VIP.^[4] This left Betshop as the company's main operating subsidiary.^[4]

By 2008^[update], the company's properties consisted of BetShop Italia, BetShop.com, GoalsLive.com and Acropolis Casino, the focus of which was expansion in Italy and Central and Eastern Europe.^[7]

Trading in shares of the company was suspended in May 2010.^[8][9] By October 2010, the company had received a demand from bankers for repayment of debts,^[1][8] and was subsequently placed into Administration due to its insolvency.^[9] Two principles of FRP Advisory executed a purchase of Betshop, thereby maintaining the company as a going concern and preserving operations in the UK, Italy, Cyprus and Greece.^[9]

Management

Henry Birch assumed the role of chief executive officer (CEO) in 2006, having served as director since 2004.^[2] Birch had previously served as the chief operating officer of the Israeli online and TV gaming platform developer Bettingcorp.^[10]

Richard Creed was named the company's finance director in May 2008, succeeding Michael Baird; Creed had formerly been finance director for BetonSports.^[7]

Also in May 2008, Neil Craven was appointed as the company's non-executive director, succeeding Benjamin Shaw.^[7]

In August 2008, Creed succeeded Birch as the company's CEO.^[2]

References

1. "Leisure and Gaming solvency hinges on Betshop sale". InfoPowa News. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2018 – via Casino Listings Online.^{[dead link‍]}
2. "Creed Replacing Birch At Leisure And Gaming". iGaming Business. 3 August 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
3. "LEISURE & GAMING PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY overview - GOV.UK". service.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
4. "Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 December 2006" (Press release). Leisure & Gaming plc. 22 March 2007.^{[self-published source]}
5. White, Bobby (26 October 2006). "'Fantasy' Web sites let users bet without cash". Section 4. The Daily Herald. Chicago, Illinois. The Wall Street Journal. p. 5. Retrieved 7 May 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Reuters: Three UK firms flee U.S. gambling with $1 buyouts Archived 2007-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Leisure and Gaming PLC Appoints Richard Creed to Company Board". 21OnlineCasinos (Blog). Retrieved 7 May 2018.
8. "Leisure & Gaming Only Trying to Sell Betshop". Gambling911 (Blog). 12 October 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
9. "Administration of the Leisure & Gaming plc and the sale of Betshop Group (Europe) Limited" (Press release). FRP Advisory. 27 October 2010. Archived from the original on 8 September 2011.
10. "Henry Birch to succeed Ian Burke as Chief Executive" (Press release). Rank Group. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2018.

Further reading

• kaus (17 October 2009). "Leisure and Gaming Plc Post Positive Q3 Results". OnlinePoker.net (Blog). Retrieved 7 May 2018.