People round-up 08/03/12
A round up of industry moves from the last week.
Boylesports appoints CEO for online division
Former head of online Keith O’Loughlin (pictured, right) appointed to run division after group restructure
Boylesports has revealed it is to separate its retail and online operations as part of plans to ramp up investment in its digital offering.
The decision signals the Irish bookmaker’s commitment to developing digital channels in an attempt to establish a foothold in new territories such as the Asian market.
Keith O’Loughlin, who joined Boylesports as head of online in 2011, has been given a new title as CEO of the Boylesports Online division.
He will be responsible for developing Boylesports.com and related betting and gaming websites across mobile, web and all digital channels internationally, as well as introducing new products and developing sub-brands such as Boylepoker.com and Boylecasino.com.
Media Corp appoints interim CEO
Media Corporation has appointed Sara Vincent, the former head of its gaming business Purple Lounge, as interim group chief executive and director.
Vincent joined Media Corp in 2001 and was responsible for the start-up and development of Casino.co.uk, which sold for £3.6m in 2007.
She was subsequently commercial director of the group’s publishing division, managing sites including Sport.co.uk and Gambling.com, before taking on the CEO role at Purple Lounge.
Former Betfair man to head up Bodog UK casino
Adam Joseph, former head of UK casino with Betfair, has joined Bodog UK as its head of casino.
Joseph had been with the betting exchange since 2008 and oversaw the relaunch of its casino site last October backed by an advertising campaign featuring sportsmen Michael Vaughan and Will Greenwood.
Bodog UK is expected to fully launch in time for Euro 2012 this summer after receiving regulatory approval from the UK Gambling Commission, and is headed up by Bodog Europe CEO Patrik Selin.
Mark Paling, founder of Electracade, has joined egaming developer Wagermill as commercial director. He was most recently content sales director for OpenBet after the UK-based software provider bought Electracade in 2008, before leaving the company six months ago.
Wagermill founder and CEO Martin Batten said of the appointment: “Mark really knows the nuts and bolts of what makes a good game, he intrinsically knows what both Operators and Players are looking for. I am very excited that he has chosen to join our team.”
Gaming manufacturer JPM has appointed industry veteran Paul Bursnell as its new chief operating officer. He arrives from the Inspired Gaming Group, where he served as UK and international sales director.
Football governing body FIFA has appointed former Interpol director Ralf Mutschke as its new director of security, with a remit which includes dealing with match-fixing in the sport. Mutschke, who has also worked as senior manager at the German Federal Criminal Police Office, said “The focus here will be on match-fixing, betting fraud and corruption.”
Email any new moves to t.victor@egrmagazine.com with the subject line ‘eGR People Moves’.