Genesis Global Laid off 140 Employees, Filed for Insolvency

Malta-based gaming firm Genesis Global presented its local employees with an unexpected Christmas present, informing them that they have become redundant just two days before the festive period.

Notice for Christmas Present

Around 140 employees received an e-mail on Friday telling them that Genesis Global has filed for insolvency and, as the firm is permanently shutting down operations in Malta, they were made redundant, Times of Malta reported.

“It is also with regret that we inform you, that the Company may not be able to pay all or any of the dues to you that are due to you in terms of law,” the email read further, saying that these may include salaries for December, salary for the thirty-day period, as well as any other statutory payments due.

The email also notified the workers that their final day of employment will be January 22 irrespective of their individual contracts’ notice period as the volume of people affected by the redundancy is treated under the Collective Redundancies (Protection of Employment) Regulations law.

“We are currently trying our best to find a solution to this issue by trying to raise some funds, and in addition, we hope to liaise with the authorities concerned in order to ease the burden and find alternative solutions in order for you to be paid at least some of the money due to you,” the email concluded advising workers to contact the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations for guidance.

Unwinding Imminent

Genesis Global had around 200 employees in Malta but the firm cut its payroll list by between 30 to 40 workers in the past few weeks to relieve its financial struggles but now it became evident that downsizing would not be enough.

The writing was on the wall earlier in the month when Genesis Global’s chief executive officer and co-founder Ariel Reem left the business he had spent over a decade with.

A check with the Malta Business Registry shows that more directors of the established in 2014 firm followed in Reem’s footsteps and resigned in recent weeks, including the company secretary.

Genesis Global’s troubles began in March 2019 after the company was slapped with a SEK4 million ($383,600) fine by Spelinspektionen for failure to integrate with the self-exclusion tool, Spelpaus, as per the new gaming law in Sweden effective January 1, 2019.

Later on, the sanction was slashed in half by the administrative court and then to just SEK1 million ($95,900) by Sweden’s Court of Appeals which found further irregularities in the way Spelinspektionen had calculated the company’s annual turnover.

Genesis Global was also sanctioned in the UK after a two-year investigation by the Gambling Commission had uncovered breaches in both social responsibility and money laundering regulations and resulted in a £3.8 million ($4.6 million) fine at the beginning of the year.