Damian Mathews has resigned from his position as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Esports Entertainment Group (EEG).
Mathews will, however, stay on the Esports Entertainment Group board as a director.
The operator noted that his departure was not due to any disagreement with the company.
In his place, Michael Villani has been appointed as interim chief financial officer.
Villani joined Esports Entertainment Group as financial controller in February of 2021. Before this, he worked as a director in the deal advisory practice of KPMG.
Villani will continue his current role as financial controller and will also act as the company’s principal Financial Officer.
He was with KPMG for a total of 18 years in both deal advisory and audit departments. Additionally, he has previously served as chief financial officer of a Geneva-based hedge fund.
Ongoing trouble with Esports Entertainment Group
Mathews’ resignation follows the departure of former CEO Grant Johnson from EEG at the end of 2022.
EEG has faced difficulties in the past number of years involving brand closures, a debt default and large operating losses. In May of last year, EEG revealed in a quarterly financial report that there was “substantial doubt” about its ability to stay in business for at least a year.
In December of 2022, EEG escaped delisting, but had been told to drastically increase its share price by February to remain on the Nasdaq exchange. Since this date, the operator’s share price has only fallen further.
The company has previously announced its plans to scale back its igaming business, including exploring the potential sale of igaming assets. EEG has already confirmed the closure of its Argyll igaming operations – which operates RedZone and SportNation – in the UK and Ireland in December due to high operational costs and an inability to generate profit.
Additionally, EEG had announced the sale of its online casino business in Spain was expected to close by 12 December 2022. However, no current update on this plan has been revealed. Proceeds from the sale will mainly be used to pay down the principal on a senior convertible note.
On January 3 of this year, it was announced that Alex Igleman would take over as new company CEO.
