People news 14 November 2013
The latest people moves from the egaming industry in the last seven days (8 November to14 November 2013)
Amaya’s online chief exits over NJ licence delay
New Jersey regulator warned Amaya investigation into Paul Leggett’s career could delay company’s licence process
Amaya Gaming’s VP of online Paul Leggett has left the company by mutual consent after New Jersey’s gambling regulator cautioned an investigation into his previous role as COO of Tokwiro Enterprises could delay the firm’s licence application.
Leggett’s sudden departure comes just days before the Canadian supplier is expected to launch its online gaming platform and content to several partners in the US state including Caesars Entertainment and bwin.party.
It is understood Don Jaques, director of business development at Amaya, will take over Leggett’s responsibilities.
According to sources, the Division of Gaming Enforcement informed Amaya last week that it intended to investigate Leggett’s career, part of which was spent at the owners of Black Friday-indicted site UltimateBet and Absolute Poker. Both poker sites were also involved in a cheating scandal in 2007.
Former Sky Bet head of casino Wimbridge joins Betfair
Former Sky Bet head of casino Gary Wimbridge has moved to Betfair to join its ecommerce team as its global head Tasmin Todd prepares to leave the exchange and sportsbook operator.
Wimbridge, who started his role this week, had previously worked on the development of Sky Bet’s HTML5 mobile casino platform, which launched in December last year.
Following the launch, he moved to Aditi Technologies in January this year, and assisted with the creation of a betting and gaming vertical within the group.
Seven days in people news:
Mybet exits continue as CEO Dahms stands down
Mybet CEO and co-founder Mathias Dahms is to leave the company at the end of the year enforcing yet another boardroom change at the Schleswig-Holstein-based operator.
Dahms leaves mybet for “personal reasons” just months after the departures of supervisory board member Rodolfo Carpintier Santana and CFO Stefan Hänel. Monika Fiala, who was appointed as the company’s interim CFO last week, will assume Dahm’s duties on an initial basis.
In addition, supervisory board member Antje Stoltenberg is also set to stand down from her seat after more than 15 years, citing health reasons.
LGA chairman resigns in board shake-up
The chairman and chief executive of Malta’s Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA) have both stood down from their roles after the regulator decided to restructure the Board and install a new executive chairman.
Chairman Mario Galea, who will stay on as a consultant to the LGA, resigned from his position on Tuesday following the departure of Reuben Portanier, who stepped down as CEO last month after nearly five years at the regulatory body.
Galea and Portanier have been replaced by Joeseph Cuschier, who has taken up the newly created role of executive chairman and is now responsible for strengthening Malta’s position as an egaming jurisdiction.
OpenBet appoints new HR chief
Sportsbook and gaming software supplier OpenBet has announced the appointment of a new vice-president of human resources, a move it hopes will boost talent recruitments and increase employee engagement.
Doreena Ross, who has already started her role, has previously held senior roles in HR and people development within the software industry, including at International Business Systems (IBS), Interwoven (now known as HP Autonomy) and Sybase.
Ross will be responsible for defining, and the implementation of, OpenBet’s key initiatives which are aimed at recruiting the best talent and supporting the development of existing staff members, OpenBet said in a statement.
William Hill Australia has hired chief technology officer at hotel and casino Echo Entertainment, Rob James, as its new director of IT. Prior to his role at Echo, James was also CTO at companies including social networking start-up Posse, Spacio.us and Museek.