Coolbet has identified 131 positions at risk at its Tallinn group company, VG Estonia OÜ, its chief operating officer told NEXT.io on 30 October. Consultation is under way, and the final number of redundancies remains open.
The company cites results below expectations in its business supplying other operators, alongside regulatory and tax pressure in several markets. That explanation points beyond the familiar business of taking bets: Coolbet sits within GAN, which combines a consumer gambling operation with a technology supplier. GAN became part of Sega Sammy in May 2025.
My reading is that the proposed cuts expose the challenge of making those two businesses work together. Owning useful betting software is a starting point; building a dependable business selling it to other companies requires a separate set of customers and commercial relationships.
One group, two ways to earn money
Coolbet’s consumer business offers sports betting, casino games and poker. In industry language, that is business-to-consumer, or B2C. The customer is the individual player.
GAN’s supplier operation is business-to-business, or B2B. Its customers are other gambling operators. It supplies technology for player accounts, account funding and running an online gambling business, with revenue including platform and content licence fees and development services.
These businesses have different commercial tests. A consumer brand has to attract and retain players. A supplier has to win operator contracts, make its systems work for those clients and keep the relationships commercially worthwhile. A platform used successfully inside one brand still needs to meet external clients’ requirements.
The growth story behind the purchase
There was a clear expansion story when GAN bought Coolbet. A 2021 company filing recorded that Coolbet’s revenue had risen 50% in 2020, from $23.6 million to $35.5 million. Those were Coolbet’s figures before the acquisition.
GAN completed the purchase of Coolbet’s parent, Vincent Group, on 1 January 2021. The rationale went beyond adding a consumer brand: GAN wanted Coolbet’s proprietary sportsbook technology to help it offer a more complete package to casino operators in the United States.
The idea was attractive. GAN already supplied the systems around online gambling; Coolbet brought an engine for the sports betting product itself. Together, the buyer expected them to serve operators seeking a broader solution. Delivering that promise depended on persuading other operators to buy and stay.
A recovery with a concentration risk
GAN’s historical segment figures show why the two sides need to be examined separately. Supplier revenue fell in 2023 and recovered in 2024, while the consumer operation’s revenue moved more modestly.
| Year | Supplying operators (B2B) | Consumer business (B2C) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $54.0m | $87.5m |
| 2023 | $43.2m | $86.3m |
| 2024 | $50.7m | $84.3m |
Revenue measures the income recorded by each business line; profit also depends on its costs. These figures cover GAN’s segments in the stated years, rather than the accounts of the Tallinn employer alone. They provide historical context for the current job plans.
The supplier decline had a concrete commercial explanation. In its 2023 results, GAN attributed the fall in B2B revenue primarily to lower contractual rates after an exclusivity period with a customer ended. The 2024 segment note separately reported that one B2B customer accounted for 15.3% of revenue across the entire group. Using the reported totals, I calculate that as roughly 41% of B2B revenue.
For me, the figures explain why a supplier can be vulnerable even with a familiar betting brand in the same group: its fortunes may hinge on a small number of commercially important operator relationships.
Sega Sammy inherited both sides of the model
When Sega Sammy agreed to acquire GAN in November 2023, it highlighted the opportunity to help casino operators enter online markets quickly. Its case rested on combining GAN’s technology with its own customer relationships and content capabilities. The acquisition was completed on 27 May 2025.
The current restructuring places that strategy under a practical test. Coolbet has acknowledged weaker B2B results, but the published explanation gives no detailed calculation of the savings expected from the proposed job changes. A headcount announcement alone cannot establish how much the operation’s finances will improve.
There is also a geographical distinction. Chief operating officer Tomas Graham told NEXT.io that the restructuring was not driven by anything specific to Estonia as a market or operating location. The affected functions happen to be based there, and the company says its headquarters will remain in Tallinn.
The risk is in what the smaller operation can deliver
The risk I would watch is whether savings preserve the ability to support existing clients and develop products they will keep buying. A supplier’s engineering and service capacity helps fulfil the contracts that generate its revenue. Reducing that capacity requires choices about which commitments and products receive priority.
A more focused operation could also direct resources towards stronger opportunities. The commercial assessment depends on the work retained, the customers served and the resulting income, alongside the cost savings. The consultation outcome will determine the final workforce changes.
For readers following gambling groups, Coolbet’s case makes the business behind the brand easier to see. Its earlier growth helped support GAN’s acquisition pitch. Subsequent accounts showed the importance of supplier contracts. Sega Sammy now owns both the consumer operation and the technology ambition. The next meaningful evidence will be the final restructuring decision and further disclosures on whether the supplier business can deliver sustainable revenue.