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How to play Lady Godiva
Mircheva’s resignation will be effective from Friday, although she will remain with the company until the end of September to “ensure a seamless leadership transition”, with the search for her replacement already under way.
George Papanier has taken on Mircheva’s role as CFO on an interim basis. Papanier will continue in his current roles as Bally’s president and a member of its board of directors.
Papanier has over 40 years of experience in the gaming industry, previously serving as CEO between February 2011 and October 2021 having first joined the company as COO in 2004.
How to play Lady Godiva
“It’s profitable, it’s growing and it was for sale from a distressed vendor,” he says. “That combination rarely appears in regulated Europe, where scaling a B2C brand means paying up for customers against Flutter and Entain on thin margins.
“Africa isn’t saturated, but I wouldn’t call it easy either. Betway and the local incumbents are well dug in. The difference is that you’re competing for a market that’s still forming, at a fraction of the acquisition cost, and the operating margin is there if you get the payments and the product right. The risk is regulatory and currency rather than competitive.”
GiG’s immediate priority following the completion of the deal will be disciplined integration, says Richards. This includes bringing 888Africa’s financial reporting, compliance and operational processes in line with GiG’s standards.
How to play Lady Godiva
Additionally, the Africa Safer Gambling Week will emphasise the importance of channelisation into legal offerings, with the AiA warning the black market often neglects player protection.
Olabimpe Akingba, head of responsible gaming at pawaTech and AiA board member, said the initiative reflects the association’s push to turn cross-border collaboration within Africa’s iGaming sector into tangible action on player protection.
“At the African iGaming Alliance, we have been committed to moving beyond conversations about collaboration across African jurisdictions towards meaningful action,” she explained.
