Harris Hagan appoints DOGA chief exec

Morten Ronde (pictured), the chief executive of the Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA), has taken up a position as consultant with London-based law firm Harris Hagan.

Ronde, who also holds the position of executive director at the International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA), has joined the firm’s international regulatory practice as part of its strategy to boost its expertise in overseas jurisdictions.

Before taking up his roles at DOGA and the IAGA, Ronde spent more than ten years as legal counsel to Danish regulatory body the Danish Gambling Authority where he advised on the set-up of its locally regulated market.

Ronde’s regulatory knowledge will be leveraged by the law firm as it seeks to build upon its client base by increasing its ability to offer international governments and regulatory authorities strategic advice.

“Harris Hagan recognises that gaming regulators may find it difficult to identify high quality and truly independent expertise in this area and Morten further strengthens our already highly regarded offering,” Julian Harris, Harris Hagan senior partner, said.

“From experience, regulatory bodies in other jurisdictions will offer help to their colleagues but, due to restraints in time and resources, they are limited to providing general guidelines and cannot provide the detailed level of work that is needed when drafting gaming legislation,” Ronde commented.

Harris Hagan, which is heavily involved in advising clients on the looming UK point of consumption regime, last week hosted a meeting between the UK Gambling Commission and other interested parties.