UK-based online gambling operator Bet365 is opening its first satellite office outside its mammoth Stoke headquarters.

This week saw Bet365 announce plans to open a satellite technology office in Manchester’s Spring Gardens. The new office, which will open in early May, is currently interviewing candidates for 50 to 70 positions. Warren Hughes will serve as head of systems development for the Manchester office.

Bet365’s head of software development Dom Hawley said the company had found plenty of exceptional individuals in Stoke but “it’s difficult to recruit to one location when you have the demand for IT talent” that comes with being the world’s largest online bookmaker.

Hawley called Manchester the “obvious choice for establishing a blueprint for our growth” due to its “excellent reputation as a tech center and strong commuter links to the rest of the North of England.”