People Archives

March 21, 2024

Racecourse Media Group names Dowding as chief betting officer

Racecourse Media Group (RMG) has announced the appointment of Ben Dowding to the new role of chief betting officer.

Dowding takes up the position following the merger of the organisation’s domestic and international betting teams. He was previously director of betting at Racecourse Media Group.

RMG took the decision to combine its teams as more bookmakers are approaching rights acquisition on a global basis. Dowding will now oversee the enlarged team, taking on the new role with immediate effect.

Dowding is a long-serving member of the RMG team having joined the business in March 2013 as head of partnerships. He went on to become head of B2B and then director of betting, holding the latter role for more than six years.

Prior to his time with RMG, Dowding worked for The Jockey Club. Here, he spent time as sponsorship manager and regional sponsorship manager.

In addition, for the past three years, he has combined his duties at RMG with serving as a non-executive director at BocaSpor..

March 12, 2024

Waterhouse VC: Spotlight on industry leaders

In his latest column, Tom Waterhouse of Waterhouse VC shines a spotlight on three industry leaders and discusses their paths to success.

In every industry, there are prominent figures who stand out and the wagering industry is no exception.

This month, we shine a spotlight on three distinct leaders in the industry: Tim Heath, a crypto wagering pioneer; Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment; and David Walsh, renowned as one of the world’s largest professional horse racing gamblers.

Over the last decade, the online wagering industry has expanded significantly through the proliferation of mobile-focused platforms. Heath and Jackson lead companies at the forefront of digital innovation in the industry.

YOLO

Originally from Australia, Heath is a serial wagering industry entrepreneur and venture capitalist. After university, he started a software development and ecommerce firm, Heathmont.net.

In 2013, he launched Coingaming Group, a crypto wagering operator and supplier which reb..

March 11, 2024

Entain, Betfred and Flutter join GC Industry Forum led by Nick Rust OBE

Directors of Flutter, Betfred, Entain and The Rank Group have been named among the nine appointed members of the Gambling Commission’s (GC) new Industry Forum, which will be chaired by Nick Rust, OBE.

Rust, who previously spent six years as British Horseracing Authority chief executive, was appointed as Industry Forum chair in November 2023.

Over a two-year term, Rust will oversee a forum that includes Ashley Padgett, director of compliance and anti-money laundering at Flutter’s UK and Ireland (UK&I) division, as well as Entain’s customer operations director for UK&I Leo Walker.

As well as Entain and Flutter, other UK gambling industry leaders will be represented. Betfred’s head of media Mark Pearson has been appointed to the forum, as well as David Williams, director of public affairs at Rank Group.

Merkur UK’s director of public and political relations, Tony Boulton, and Betsmart Consulting founder and director, Kirsty Caldwell, will also be joined on the forum by Charles Cohen,..

January 8, 2024

Kambi CEO Kristian Nylén announces resignation

CEO and co-founder of Kambi, Kristian Nylén, has notified the board of his intention to step down from his current position during the year, upon the appointment of a successor.

Nylén co-founded Kambi with Anders Strom in 2010. He has since built the company into one of the industry’s leading sportsbook suppliers.

It is understood that Nylén’s decision to resign is driven by his desire to spend more time with his family.

Commenting, Nylén said: “The decision to stand down from my position at Kambi after so many enjoyable years has been difficult, but one predominantly driven by my desire to spend more time with my young and growing family.”

Nylén plans to stand down from his current position during the year, upon the appointment of a successor.

The market has so far not reacted too heavily to the news. At the time of writing, Kambi’s share price was down 1.83%, to SEK160.50 (€14.79/ £12.29/ $15.69).

Timing of Nylén’s resignation

Nylén’s announcement follows a period of sustai..

September 14, 2023

Spajic tapped as Betfred USA CEO

Kresimir Spajic will lead Betfred USA as its new chief executive.

Spajic will oversee the sportsbook’s strategy and operations across 10 US states. Betfred is licensed to operate in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Louisiana, Arizona, Iowa, Washington, Virginia, Ohio and Maryland.

Read the full article on iGB North America

July 25, 2023

Missing an open goal

This year promises to mark a pivotal moment in women’s football – the point when the women’s game finally comes into its own. But Christina Thakor-Rankin, co-founder of the All-In Diversity Project and principal consultant at 1710 Gaming, doubts operators are taking full advantage of the Women’s World Cup.

The Fifa Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia this summer offers bookies worldwide a much bigger opportunity than the World Cup “proper”.

By replicating the same range of markets they offered on the men’s event, including groups and player markets, they have the opportunity to re-engage with those who bet on the men’s game.

And by tweaking the way they present these opportunities, an even bigger opportunity becomes available – to attract a whole new sports betting demographic: women.

Christina Thakor-Rankin, co-founder, All-In Diversity Project and principal consultanT, 1710 Gaming

The statistics are certainly there to back this up. The numbers from a wide range of so..

April 26, 2023

UK Tote Group brings in new senior leadership

UK and Irish pool operator UK Tote Group has hired two new CCOs to support its growth strategy and expand its international and domestic networks.

Jon Knapman joins Tote Group as chief commercial officer of the group’s international B2B business. With its recent expansion into US, South African and Hong Kong markets, the international business has seen substantial growth.

Dave Hammond becomes the chief commercial officer (UK) of the operator’s domestic operation. Hammond brings 25 years of experience in the industry from numerous senior operational roles in companies such as Inspired Gaming, Paddy Power, Betfair and DraftKings.

“As we continue to execute our growth strategy for the business and, following three years of significant expansion within international markets with many more opportunities on the horizon, we now have two extremely strong leaders focussed on driving the commercial performance of our international and UK businesses,” UK Tote Group chief executive Alex Fros..

March 13, 2023

Fredrik Elmqvist: Other side of the coin

Slots veteran Fredrik Elmqvist is turning his luck to the mad bad world of sports betting – but will it work?

Elmqvist is well-deserving of his reputation as the king of slots.

However, more than 10 years on from his epoch-making launch of Yggdrasil, the Stockholm native is turning his luck to the decidedly different proposition of sports betting in his latest project ParlayBay, which seeks to make its name as the new champions of micro betting.

The Swedish entrepreneur certainly has a nose for where the action is, describing it a “pretty interesting” time to be setting out on a venture such as this.

Elmqvist describes a US sports betting landscape that is shifting into a new, subtler gear following the marketing wars that characterised the earlier days of the PASPA repeal.

“For a few years there’s been a shift into sports betting and you see, in the United States rollout, both the need for new products and to keep the marketing costs down, as well as still [the need to] get new..

March 8, 2023

ARC confirms departure of chairman Thorpe

British racecourse operator Arena Racing Company (ARC) has announced that David Thorpe is to step down as its chairman from 30 April.

Thorpe has served in the role since April 2014, prior to which he was chairman of both the Racecourse Association and Arena Leisure.

He also served on the boards of the Horserace Betting Levy Board and British Horseracing Authority.

“I have decided that, after nearly a decade as chairman, it is the right time to step down,” Thorpe said. “I look forward to some more time in retirement, as well as the opportunity to pursue other interests.

“It has been a significant source of pride to see the company flourish and grow over the past few years and without doubt we have assembled an incredibly smart, passionate and hard-working team. I am equally delighted to have been part of creating a new industry structure, a major improvement which should serve the sport well in to the future.

“I am sure the company will only continue to get stronger and more succes..

February 20, 2023

MyRacehorse appoints ex-Betfair racing head as marketing director

MyRacehorse, a micro-share horse racing syndicate, has hired ex-Betfair head of racing Will De Nardo to lead on its UK and Ireland marketing efforts.

De Nardo has been appointed as MyRacehorse’s UK and Ireland marketing director and global gaming advisor.

In his new role, he will lead the company’s customer base expansion.

De Nardo joins MyRacehorse after close to 10 years working at various Flutter Entertainment brands, spending time at Sky Betting & Gaming and FoxBet before moving on to Betfair.

“Will brings an additional and important marketing skill set to our UK and Ireland business due to his invaluable experience at Flutter,” said MyRacehorse managing partner Jules Pittam.

“He will be influential in enhancing the owner experience as well as working with new partners as he develops gaming opportunities around the world. We are delighted to have someone of such high calibre join the team.”

de nardo said he aims to replicate the business’ success in new markets

De Nardo sa..

January 27, 2023

James Arnold appointed CEO of The Football Pools

Industry executive James Arnold has been appointed chief executive of iconic British betting business The Football Pools.

Arnold began his new role earlier this month, at the start of the business’ centenary year.

He joins from Noel Hayden’s LiveScore Group, which runs the Virgin Bet and LiveScore Bet sports betting brands, where he spent three years first as chief operating officer, then chief commercial officer.

Earlier in his career, Arnold worked for the likes of Betway, Boylesports and SportingBet, holding a number of marketing and executive roles during his tenure with each operator.

He replaces Derek Lloyd, who had served as CEO of The Football Pools since July 2017.

Arnold said he was “delighted” to take charge of an iconic british brand

“I’m delighted to be joining such an iconic British brand at a time of significant change and development,” Arnold said.

“A lot of good work has already been done to reposition the company for growth and I look forward to working w..

January 19, 2023

Kambi to pursue efficiencies as it aims for €150m profit goal

Kambi expects to pursue a more personnel-light strategy within its trading department by 2027 as it pivots to an algorithm-led approach in order to hit an ambitious long-term operating profit target.

Kambi this morning revealed a €150m (£130.9m/$161.9m) earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) target for 2027 and, in a capital markets day, executives outlined how the business intends to reach that figure.

The business also revealed that it expected revenue in 2027 to be between two and three times the size of its 2022 revenue. As the relative growth in EBIT would be larger than the relative growth in revenue, this suggested that Kambi hopes to increase its profit margins as it expands.

Now, the supplier has provided more detail of this, with a pivot towards more algorithmic trading helping to drive the projected increase in efficiency.

Kambi embracing algorithmic trading

Kambi deputy chief executive Erik Lögdberg described this pivot as “third-generation sports betting”. He said th..

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