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Europe
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Isle of Man-based gambling software supplier Microgaming announced that its CEO John Coleman, who has been in the role since June 2018, having previously worked as the company’s CFO for almost 14 years, will step down on December 31, 2021. Coleman will be replaced by the company’s current COO Andrew Clucas, who joined Microgaming in 2009 and has held the position of chief operating officer since January 2018.
Casinos Austria has appointed the CEO of Holland Casino, Erwin van Lambaart, as its board chairman. He will take up the new role on March 14, 2022, and will resign from his position at Holland Casino earlier in the same month. In the meantime, van Lambaart will continue to fulfil his duties as Holland Casino searches for a new CEO.
UK charity GambleAware has appointed four new trustees to its board. Baroness Hilary Armstrong, a Labour member of the House of Lords, Marina Gibbs, policy director within Ofcom’s Networks and Communications group, Mubin Haq, chief executive of Standard Life Foundation and Dr. Koravangattu Valsraj, a consultant psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and senior clinical lecturer at King's College London.
After over six years in her role as the non-executive director of The Rank Group Plc and chair of the ESG & Safer Gambling Committee, Susan Hooper will step down at the end of January. Katie McAlister will become the chair of the committee from the start of February. Rank also confirmed that its chief financial officer, Bill Floydd, is set to depart the business at the end of December. Simon Hay will step in as interim CFO until a successor is appointed.
Kerstin Kosanke, one of the managing directors of Lotto Brandenburg, has been named the new CEO of the German Casino Association (DSbV). Thomas Schenk, chief legal officer of the Baden-Württemberg casinos, was elected as her new deputy.
XLMedia has appointed Caroline Ackroyd as its new group finance officer. Ackroyd has previously held senior management roles at Sky Betting and Gaming and a subsidiary of Gala Coral Group. The group’s current interim chief financial officer, Rowan Ellis, will be reverting to his role as a financial consultant to XLMedia, working alongside Ackroyd to ensure a smooth handover.
British online self-exclusion service GAMSTOP has appointed Simon Reynolds as the new non-executive director for the national online self-exclusion scheme. Reynolds has most recently served as chief compliance officer at Buzz Bingo, having previously worked as the UK compliance director for the Entain Group. Reynolds replaces Roger Parkes as the only industry non-executive director on GAMSTOP’s five-member board.
The four winners of a Diversity Scholarship sponsored by the European Casino Association (ECA), the association of gaming equipment manufacturers (AGEM), Clarion, and the University of Las Vegas International Gaming Institute (UNLV) have been announced. Joanna Petit, American games supervisor for Casino de Monte-Carlo, Shalini Kolling, HR manager, Casino Cosmopol, Jan Pecha, the casino general manager for Olympic Casino and Darko Devic, table games manager at Casino Mond, will all have the chance to attend the gaming leadership course. The course is run by UNLV and the University of Nevada, Reno College of Business and Extended Studies.
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North America
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WynnBet has named Ian Williams president of Wynn Interactive. He will oversee Wynn Interactive’s global day-to-day operations. Williams joined WynnBet in October as chief operating officer. Prior to joining WynnBet, Williams served as president of Churchill Downs.
The Canadian Gaming Association has appointed four new members to its board of directors. The new members of the 15-member board are Scott Burton, CEO of FansUnite Entertainment; Neil Erlick, chief corporate development officer with Nuvei; Jeffrey Haas, senior vice president international strategy for DraftKings, and Chuck Keeling, executive vice president stakeholder relations and responsible gaming for Great Canadian Gaming Corporation.
Paul Godfrey, chairman of Postmedia Network and former chief executive of Sun Media, the Toronto Blue Jays and Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, has been named interim chief executive of Bragg Gaming Group. Bragg founder and former interim CEO Adam Arviv will take on the role of special advisor to the chairman and CEO, and Richard Carter has stepped down as CEO of the Toronto-based company.
The Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC) has approved three key employees put forward by executive director Mary Beth Thomas as the nine-member council begins to oversee sports betting, a role once held by the Tennessee Education Lottery. Roger Guillemette, who managed sports betting and casino compliance for the Rhode Island Lottery, was named deputy director of gaming, licensure, and compliance.
The SWAC also approved Stephanie Maxwell, general counsel for the state Comptroller of the Treasury, as SWAC’s general counsel, and Keith Boring, director of legislation at the state Department of Finance and Administration, was named deputy director of administration and chief of staff.
IGT has appointed Gil Rotem as president of igaming. Rotem will be responsible for the development and global expansion of IGT’s PlayCasino division, which includes igaming, poker and bingo. He will report to IGT CEO Digital & Betting Enrico Drago. Rotem previously worked for 888.com as director of technology, business production, administration and exchange, and head of technology.
PointsBet has appointed former Facebook executive Kyle Christensen as its new chief marketing officer for the U.S. Christensen will oversee the overall marketing strategy and work with core partners to drive product growth and gain market share. He will report to U.S. CEO Johnny Aitken.
Cole Wogoman has been named government relations manager with the National Council on Problem Gambling. Wogoman’s focus will be advocating for stronger problem gambling and responsible gambling measures at the local, state, and federal levels. Wogoman, a D.C.-based attorney, previously served as legislative counsel for D.C. councilmember Mary Chen working on a wide-range of issues including sports betting.
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Asia/Pacific
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The Victoria state government has appointed career public servant Fran Thorn as the inaugural chair of the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC). Thorn will serve a three-year term from January 1, the government said in a November 23 statement. Thorn “previously designed and delivered significant government service reforms, and worked across government in policy, planning, funding and regulation,” it said. The VGCCC includes a dedicated casino division and partially replaces the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, which will be disbanded and have its role for liquor regulation shifted to the justice department. The latter commission suffered fatal collateral damage during extensive probes into misconduct by Crown Resorts and its customers at its Melbourne casino.
Meanwhile, Crown Resorts on November 9 announced the appointment of hotel executive Simon McGrath as CEO of its Crown Sydney property and group head of hospitality, effective February 1. McGrath previously was CEO of hotel giant Accor Pacific and an executive with Southern Pacific Hotels and Rydges Hotel Groups. On November 4, Crown named Bank of Queensland chief customer officer Danielle Keighery as chief corporate affairs and brand officer.
New Zealand and Australian casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group announced that board member Julian Cook has been appointed company chair, effective January 1, replacing the retiring Rob Campbell. Cook has been a SkyCity director since June, previously serving as CEO of Summerset Holdings for seven years and as an associate director at Macquarie Group.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) on November 8 appointed Ramez Younan as executive director for information technology and sustainability, effective January 1. The Egypt- and UK-educated Younan previously worked for Oracle in the US and the UK and served as CEO of Hong Kong’s PCCW Solutions from 2015. On November 21, the HKJC also announced the appointment of physician, epidemiologist and University of Hong Kong dean of medicine Gabriel Leung as executive director for charities and communities, effective July 18, 2022.
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John Coleman stepping down as Microgaming CEO, Canadian Gaming Association appoints four new members to its board of directors, inaugural chair of the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission named.
