Aspire Global Malta office to shut in white-label wind-down

• Aristocrat Interactive is winding down its white-label business entirely, with the closure expected by end of June 2026.
• Around 120 Malta-based employees are set to be made redundant, according to staff who shared the news publicly.
• The exit follows Aristocrat’s earlier confirmation that white-label operations generate negligible profit and do not meet internal return thresholds.

Aristocrat Interactive is winding down its white-label iGaming business and closing its Malta office, leaving around 120 employees facing redundancy by the end of June, according to staff who shared the news on LinkedIn.

Colleagues have urged the wider industry to hire from a pool of professionals trained in highly regulated markets including the UK, Ontario and Malta Gaming Authority jurisdictions.

Malta office to shut

Staff members announced publicly that the Malta office, the operational hub of the former Aspire Global white-label division, will close as part of the wind-down. Redundant roles span a broad range of functions, including compliance, AML, safer gambling, risk and fraud, payments, CRM, customer support, finance, legal, and marketing.

Aristocrat acquired the Aspire Global business through its 2024 takeover of NeoGames. All prior operations under the Anaxi branding and those comprising Neo Group Ltd — including NeoGames, Aspire Global, BtoBet and Pariplay — were folded into the Aristocrat Interactive brand in June 2024.

White label, not core business

The broader white-label exit had previously been framed as a strategic portfolio choice rather than an operational failure. The white-label business contributed $36 million of revenues to Aristocrat Interactive’s FY25 result but generated negligible profit and failed to meet internal return targets.

Trevor Croker, CEO and Managing Director of Aristocrat Leisure, had confirmed plans to exit the white-label division during an address at the company’s annual general meeting in Sydney.

Croker said:

“We’ve continued to review portfolio returns and industry dynamics to optimise our positioning. We are planning to exit the white-label business in interactive, which largely operates in the UK and Europe, with an expected completion within this financial year.”

Aristocrat previously stated the decision followed a review of its white-label operations, which determined they are not core to its growth strategy, and that the change would allow the business to focus fully on its highest-growth priorities.

UK tax squeeze

The exit accelerated against a difficult regulatory backdrop in the UK. The white-label division had already begun shutting down brands operated under the AG Communications Limited UKGC licence, with closures beginning in December 2025.

Remote Gaming Duty will rise from 21% to 40% effective April 2026, with a new 25% rate applying to most online betting. Bonus wagering requirements were also capped at 10x in January 2026 and mixed-product promotion banned.

In March 2025, AG Communications Limited received a £1.4 million settlement order from the Gambling Commission for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.

Aristocrat’s broader interactive division is continuing to invest in growth areas. The company recently acquired live slot streaming provider Awager and settled a £127.5m IP dispute with Light & Wonder over Dragon Train slot mechanics.

For the approximately 120 Malta-based staff now facing redundancy, the wind-down represents a significant disruption to one of the island’s established iGaming employer bases. T

he talent pool includes professionals experienced in MGA, UKGC and Ontario regulatory frameworks, jurisdictions where compliance expertise remains in high demand across the sector.