Playtech’s long-time boss, Mor Weizer, has been served a fresh portion of criticism over his company’s CEO pay package and bonus policies.
A report from This Is Money details how the FTSE 250 gambling software company asked in April its employees to take a pay cut in the face of the global coronavirus pandemic and then tried to maneuver a generous £2.9 million pay package for Mr. Weizer past Playtech’s shareholders.
Nearly two-thirds of investors protested the proposed pay package at the firm’s annual general meeting last month, but Playtech’s CEO will still receive the full amount.
Last month’s investor rebel marked the fourth straight year that Playtech’s pay policies were protested by shareholders.
The Daily Mail reveals that while investors rebelled over Mr. Weizer’s pay, he managed to avoid paying a £3.5 million fine to the UK Gambling Commission over Playtech’s role in the suicide of a 25-year-old gambler.
Chris Bruney took his life in 2017 after he was showered with £400 worth of bonuses at Winner.co.uk, an online casino managed by Playtech subsidiary PT Entertainment Services. Bruney lost more than £100,000 gambling on the website in the five days leading up to his death.
The UK Gambling Commission instigated a probe into the case and uncovered serious “systematic failures” within PT Entertainment Services’ activities such as lack of proper problem gambling safeguards for new players and VIP customers. The Playtech subsidiary surrendered its remote gaming license in 2019.
The gambling regulator said last month that it would have imposed a £3.5 million fine to the B2C company had it retained its UK license.
Playtech Pays Fine
Following news reports about the case, Playtech apologized last week and said that it would hand over the £3.5 million fine it would have faced. The company also said that it would donate £5 million to gambling-related charities over the next five years.
News about the Bruney case prompted a new wave of criticism toward Mr. Weizer and his company’s executive pay and bonus policies.
Campaigners on Monday urged the Playtech CEO to hand back his bonuses. High Pay Centre Director Luke Hilyard said that “it’s repellent for executives at companies involved in appalling situations […] to be pocketing multi-million pound pay packages.”
Matt Zarb-Cousins of the Clean Up Gambling campaign group said that “it’s the same short-termism that leads to out of control excessive pay that also gives rise to an exploitative business model.”
He went on that “shareholders are right to be alarmed at executives enriching themselves off the back of serious harm, imperiling the future sustainability of the sector.”
Late last year, a big group of Playtech investors opposed a £30 million bonus scheme that provides for a nil cost options award of 1.9 million shares to Mr. Weizer if the company reaches certain share performance goals over the next five years.
The bonus will be awarded in tranches, with the last one set to be triggered if Playtech maintains a share price of over £16 for at least a month.
Responding to criticism over the bonus scheme, Playtech said that it would propose a new pay policy at its annual general meeting in 2021 and that while “there have been major improvements”, it recognizes the need to go further.
Playtech shares soared Monday after news emerged that it has obtained a transactional waiver from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to provide its casino product in the state. The gambling software giant expects to launch soon in New Jersey with bet365 and its local land-based partner, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
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