Flutter promotes Sky Bet compliance director to senior role in UK & Ireland division

Flutter Entertainment has promoted Sky Betting & Gaming (SBG) director of compliance Ashley Padgett to serve as interim director of compliance and AML for its UK & Ireland division. Padgett, a veteran of the UK gambling regulatory sector, will hold oversight responsibility for the division’s compliance and AML teams across its Paddy Power Betfair and Sky Bet brands. This role will come into sharp focus over the coming months with the forthcoming review of the 2005 UK Gambling Act expected to take place before the end of 2020. It is understood that increased compliance restrictions on UK operators are being mooted by the UK government, with Downing Street reportedly keen to take the lead in the review. Padgett will divide his time between his current and previous role while a long-term successor is appointed within SBG. Padgett arrived at SBG in 2015 having transitioned from an IT-audit based role at rival UK bookmaker William Hill to an internal audit manager role with the Leeds-based betting firm. During a nine-month spell as SBG’s head of internal audit and risk management, Padgett developed the SBG audit framework which included the implementation of a risk-based management model across the business, before advancing to become head of regulatory risk in March 2018. He was later promoted again in September 2020 to the director of compliance role, occupying this post for less than two months. In his new role, Padgett will report to Flutter UK & Ireland CEO Conor Grant, who was himself promoted to head up the division in July. Padgett and Grant are among several SBG alumni to make the transition to Flutter, with former SBG people and culture MD Karen Tyrell and SBG CTO Rik Barker also being promoted by the operator over the last three months. The FTSE listed operator is set to deliver its Q3 trading update on 11 November.