News UK MD for betting & gaming departs amid start-up return

News UK has confirmed the departure of its MD for betting & gaming, Simon Collins, who has decided to step down after less than two years in the role. In his role as betting & gaming MD, Collins oversaw News UK’s portfolio of betting & gaming brands, including the Sun Bingo, Sun Racing and Dream Team brands. He will be replaced by The Sun general manager Jo Bucci, who formerly served as MD for The People’s Postcode Lottery brand. However, the ongoing development of betting & gaming opportunities relating to the talkSPORT brand will be overseen by Wireless CEO Scott Taunton. “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Simon for his hard work and entrepreneurialism over the last year,” Taunton said. “Simon has led the betting & gaming team during an important phase, focusing on new product development alongside driving strong revenues in this space,” he added. A veteran of the UK gaming market with more than 25 years’ experience in launching gaming brands, Collins co-founded Cashcade, spearheading the creation and development of the Foxy Bingo brand prior to its sale to GVC for £96m in 2009. Following this success, he co-founded Gaming Realms and was instrumental in the development of the firm’s real-money gaming business prior to its sale to River iGaming in 2019. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at News UK,” Collins said. “It’s been a pleasure to work with such a talented team to develop some of the most popular gaming products in the UK environment – from Dream Team to Sun Bingo. “That said, my roots – and my heart – lay in the start-up space, and the lure of the new opportunities there was just too strong,” he added.