David Baazov Officially Resigns from Amaya Gaming

PokerStars.com

After helping build Amaya Gaming to what it is today, David Baazov is now stepping down from all roles within the company. On Friday, it was announced that Baazov, co-founder of Amaya and former CEO, would no longer hold a position within the company. Rafi Ashkenazi took over back in March in the role of CEO after Baazov stepped down temporarily. Now Ashkenazi will take on the role permanently.

It was announced on Friday that Baazov had resigned from all positions within the company the day before. The former CEO had stepped down in March due to insider trading charges place against him in relation to the acquisition of PokerStars and Full Tilt, which cost Amaya $4.9 billion.

In a statement, Baazov revealed that he is proud of his contribution in building Amaya into a successful company as it is today and will continue to be supportive of the company’s strategy as well as management.

Along with the resignation announcement and Ashkenazi taking on the CEO role permanently, Amaya also reported their quarterly revenues, which were 10.2% higher than the same time frame of 2015. The company earned $285.9 million for the quarter.

The sportsbook and casino revenues saw a nice increase for Amaya with $60 million earned. Euro 2016 soccer tournament betting helped to support these numbers. According to Ashkenazi, poker revenues fell flat with only $216 million earned during the quarter. This was partially due to soccer matches being watched rather than playing poker online.

While the Euro Cup helped to booster sportsbetting revenues, Ashkenazi does expect July to show negative effects. According to the CEO, the Euro Cup typically carries a hangover effect for several weeks after it is completed and requires adjustments to the promotional calendar.

Baazov had made mention of purchasing Amaya Gaming in the past and on Friday, Amaya did say it had been discussing with several parties about purchasing the company, though the former CEO was not mentioned as one of them. Some talks have progressed and while discussions are advancing, Amaya has stated that there is no guarantee that the process will result in a transaction.

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