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Europe
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The UK’s Health Lottery has named Lebby Eyres as its new chief executive. Eyres has been with the charity lottery operator since January, overseeing a handover from outgoing CEO Des Duffy.
Gauselmann Group has selected Irina Ruf as its new managing director international at Merkur Casino. She replaces Stefan Bruns, who moves to a new role overseeing sports betting and online gaming for the Gauselmann management team.
Fotis Konstantellos has stepped down as a member of the board and deputy CEO at Intralot. He is to be replaced by Fotis Konstantellos, who will also become the lottery company’s group chief technology officer.
Scout Gaming Group has appointed current acting CEO Niklas Jönsson as its new permanent chief executive and promoted Andreas Olsen from head of finance in Norway to group CFO.
Superbet Group has added former Dezeer CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht to its board as chairman. He will replace Superbet founder Sacha Dragic as chairman, although Dragic will remain as a board member.
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North America
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President Joe Biden has appointed Joe Asher, president of sports betting for IGT, to a six-year term as chair of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars board of trustees. Previously, Asher was CEO of William Hill from its founding in 2012 until its sale to Caesars Entertainment in 2021. The Wilson Center, chartered by Congress in 1968 as the official memorial to President Wilson, is the nations key non-partisan forum for tackling global issues.
Fanatics Betting and Gaming has appointed Hank Couture to the new position of chief operating officer. Couture will report to CEO Matt King and be part of the executive team developing strategies as Fanatics Sportsbook is poised to launch nationwide in mid-2023. Previously, he was vice president at DoorDash, overseeing the company’s U.S. operations.
The National Council on Problem Gambling has appointed new officers to its advisory board, including Christopher Herbert, director of the Gaming Division at the Louisiana Attorney General’s office, as the board’s new chair. Herbert succeeds Stacy Shaw, director to corporate social responsibility at the Oregon Lottery. Martin Lycka, senior vice president of American Regulatory Affairs & Responsible Gambling at Entain Group, will assume the vice chair position.
Scientific Games has promoted several employees as it realigns its digital and sports-betting executive teams. Amy Bergette has been named senior vice president of digital solutions, while Kira Summers was promoted to vice president of operations and planning for digital, and Merv Huber was named vice president of digital growth.
The company also announced that Nick Negro has been appointed CFO of Scientific Games following the retirement of former CFO James Bunitsky, who joined the company in 1981. Previously, Negro held CFO positions at Honeywell, Dover Corporations and Navistar.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has announced that Tom Mungham, its current registrar and chief executive, will retire in the fall. Mungham will continue in both roles while the board of directors conducts its search for a new registrar and CEO. He joined AGCO in 2006 and served as its director of licensing and registration, and then as CEO until 2020 when he was appointed to the role of registrar and CEO.
MGM Resorts International has appointed television producer and director Ben Winston to its board of directors. Winston becomes the 12th member of the board. He is a founding partner of the production company Fulwell 73 and was the co-executive producer of The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2015.
Katie Lever has accepted the role of general counsel, corporate secretary and chief privacy officer with Great Canadian Entertainment, In her new role, Lever will oversee the company’s legal, privacy, and corporate governance functions. She is also an independent board member of GeoComply Solutions and GBank Financial Holdings, the parent company of GBank.
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee has approved the appointments of three members of the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC). Julie Brown, who initially appointed in December 2021 and reappointed in May 2022, will serve on the commission until January 1, 2024. Both Charles Drago and John D’Aquila, who are current FGCC members, were appointed to another term, ending on January 1, 2025.
Everi Holdings has appointed Debra Nutton to its board of directors. Nutton also was assigned to serve as a member of the board’s audit, nominating and governance, and compensation committees. Previously, Nutton served as vice president of Wynn Las Vegas and was an advisor to the pre-opening team at Resorts World Las Vegas, which opening in 2021.
Gaming Laboratories International has promoted Andrea Bossard and Mike Burger to directors of engineering. Bossard has been with GLI for nearly two decades where previously she was a test engineer. Burger has been with GLI since 2001 as a test engineer.
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Asia- Pacific
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Novomatic-controlled Australian gaming machine manufacturer Ainsworth Game Technology has appointed Novomatic deputy chairman Haig Asenbauer as non-executive director, according to an Ainsworth filing to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on March 22. Asenbauer is a partner with the Asenbauer Rechtsanwaelte law firm in Vienna.
Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group on March 22 announced the elevation of independent non-executive director and former Suncorp Bank CEO David Foster to chairman of the board on March 31 to replace Ben Heap, who also retired as non-executive director. Foster has been on the board since December 15 last year. Foster maintains several directorships of Australian listcos and is chairman of early education venture G8 Education, Star said in a filing to the ASX.
Australian corporate bookmaker lobby Responsible Wagering Australia said on March 24 that it has appointed former federal public servant Kai Cantwell as CEO, effective April 17, replacing Justin Madden. Cantwell worked for the federal government for a decade, including as a senior executive in social services and as ministerial chief of staff. “He also played a key role in the responsibility for the coordination, development and implementation of the National Consumer Protection Framework” for online gambling, the statement said.
New Zealand and Australian casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group on March 27 announced the retirement of board member Silvana Schenone, effective March 31. The Jarden bank managing director cited “other work commitments” for the decision. No replacement was named. A second director, Sue Suckling, announced her resignation in August but will remain until new directors are named.
SkyCity also named Chorus New Zealand chief people officer Shaun Philp as SkyCity chief people and culture officer, with a late starting date of September 4. Employee services general manager Greg McNair has been appointed acting chief people and culture office until that date.
Expanding Philippine gaming operation Hann Casino Resort has appointed veteran executive Dennis Andreaci as senior vice president for casino operations. Andreaci has worked at Bloomberry Resorts’ Solaire casino in Manila, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, and with Sands China and Galaxy Entertainment Group in Macau. Andreaci had previously consulted for Hann resort boss Daesik Han on development of the Clark Freeport property.
Casino operator Wynn Macau has appointed its first chief marketing officer amid the near eradication of junkets, GGRAsia reported on March 3, citing a company statement. Zoe Zou Wenyu previously marketed Paula’s Choice and L’Oréal beauty care brands in China, with intervening work for Alibaba Group in online retailing.
Macau-based electronic gaming machine manufacturer and casino operator Paradise Entertainment announced the replacement of departing independent non-executive director Kai-shing Tao by Rebecca Liu Ka Ying, 53, according to a Hong Kong bourse filing. Canada and Switzerland-educated Liu has been a board member of various Hong Kong and Nasdaq listcos, and is senior vice president of Fortune (Shanghai) Limited.
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Latin America
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Former CEO of Codere Online Moshe Edree stepped down in the wake of the company’s financial struggles. He has been replaced by Aviv Sher, who previously served as COO at Codere and as director of digital operations. He has prior industry experience as the COO of NeoGames and the executive vice president of Prime Gaming.
After much back and forth, Roger Carrillo is the new president of Coljuegos, the Colombian regulatory body. The trained economist and former Bogotá councilman was the favourite for the position, but landed himself in hot water when he impersonated an opponent on the radio. After a delay in the announcement, Carrillo was finally made president after all. He replaces César Augusto Valencia Galiano.
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The UK's Health Lottery has a new boss, gambling veteran Joe Asher gets a presidential appointment, Star Entertainment appoints a new chair and Colombia finally appoints a new chief regulator.