Case Study

The Challenge

A leading European gaming operator faced a business-critical challenge: to retain regulatory compliance in a key European market, its core platform infrastructure had to be relocated from Gibraltar to within the European Union.

This change was driven by an evolving regulatory environment, where Gibraltar’s post-EU status rendered the operator’s existing licence, covering seven of its highest-revenue businesses, ineligible for renewal. With the licence expiring at the end of 2024, the organisation risked losing access to a market responsible for millions in monthly revenue.

Failure to act would result in substantial financial and reputational impact, affecting a base of 2.1 million customers across the region. Recognising both the regulatory complexity and commercial risk, the client engaged Perform Partners in November 2023 to lead a high-priority transformation, ensuring compliance, continuity, and scalability under tight timelines.

Our Approach

Perform Partners was embedded from the outset to define strategy, de-risk the roadmap, and deliver the programme within the required timeframe. We collaborated closely with the client’s internal task team to evaluate relocation options, including:

• Utilising an existing platform from the wider group
• Partnering with third-party providers
• Fully outsourcing platform operations
• Allowing the licence to lapse (ultimately deemed non-viable)

The initially favoured solution involved spinning up a mini instance of a third-party platform to serve the Italian market, estimated at £7 million and requiring 5,500 man-days of effort. However, our early-stage risk assessment uncovered issues with shared payment systems and duplicate integration paths. To protect customer identity integrity and avoid system conflicts, we advised a full-stack relocation, moving the entire technology platform out of Gibraltar.

In May 2024, the client pivoted to a managed service model. Perform Partners led the supplier selection process, resulting in the onboarding of a leading Italian platform-as-a-service provider. We supported contractual setup, onboarding, and mobilisation of a joint delivery roadmap.

Key to our approach was tight scope governance. We helped stakeholders focus on core regulatory requirements for go-live, deferring enhancements and customisations to Phase 2. Our consultants worked cross-border with UK and Italian teams, managing:

• Cultural challenges such as differing working hours and communication styles
• Language barriers in both business and technical contexts
• Integration of a supplier product with minimal customisation while still meeting client-specific needs

Through strong project leadership, risk control, and collaboration, we ensured delivery pace aligned with the regulatory deadline and exceeded expectations.

Supporting People Through Change

This transformation involved not just systems, but people and supporting them through that change was a critical success factor. Perform Partners helped teams on both sides of the relocation navigate new processes, technologies, and cross-cultural collaboration with confidence.

We prioritised open communication and transparency throughout delivery, ensuring that every stakeholder, from local IT specialists to executive sponsors, understood the “why” behind each decision. Joint planning sessions and bilingual documentation helped bridge language barriers, while clear governance structures reduced uncertainty and built trust across teams.

By keeping people informed, involved, and supported, Perform Partners ensured the transition was both compliant and empowering. Teams felt ownership of the outcome, confident in their ability to operate and evolve within the new platform environment.