People round-up 24/11/11
A round up of industry moves from the last seven days.
Exclusive: Morten Rønde new DOGA chief executive
Danish Gambling Authority’s long-serving legal advisor departs to take charge of newly formed lobby group – confirms Danske Spil as latest member.
Former legal advisor to the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) Morten Rønde has been appointed as the chief executive of the newly-formed Danish Online Gambling Association (DOGA), eGaming Review can exclusively reveal.
Rønde left his position as legal advisor on Tuesday after 11 years with the DGA to join the Remote Gambling Association-backed lobby group, whose formation was announced last week. Its founding members are Unibet, Bet365, Betfair and Sportingbet, with former Danish monopoly Danske Spil the latest operator to join. The organisation will have its inaugural meeting on 29 November to finalise the group’s structure and by-laws.
To avoid any conflict of interest, Rønde had no involvement in the licensing process after submitting his resignation on 17 October, the deadline for the first wave of applications.
Speaking to eGR Rønde described the association as being “”¦ run by the members, for the members. Currently I am the only full-time employee in the administration, but I will be in constant dialogue with the members to confirm my responsibilities and the organisation’s scope.”
Kimber to step down from IOM role
The Isle of Man’s head of egaming development, Garth Kimber, will step down after almost five years in the role, eGaming Review has learned.
Kimber has chosen to return to the private sector with the move described as amicable by Tim Craine, director of the Island’s Business Development agency. Craine has also revealed that the process to recruit a replacement for Kimber has already begun.
Kimber has told eGaming Review that his new role would be as “CEO of a new Asian egaming licensee on the island”, but could not go into any more detail. He will begin his new role in February, and will be joined at the company by current Isle of Man egaming development manager Lisa Underwood.
Betfair’s Wass to leave after not landing CEO job
Long-serving Betfair chief commercial officer and board member Niall Wass will leave the operator next month after failing to land the role of chief executive, sources close to the matter have told eGaming Review.
After being overlooked for the CEO role, recently accepted by former Paddy Power COO Breon Corcoran, Wass has decided to leave and join short-term loan provider Wonga as its new COO at an unknown date. Corcoran will join Betfair in August next year once his non-compete agreement expires. The Irishman will replace outgoing CEO David Yu, while chairman and majority shareholder, Ed Wray, will stand down once a successor has been found.
People moves: the last seven days:
Mr Green appoints Unibet’s Knudsen as CFO
Mr Green has appointed Unibet’s head of finance Keld Knudsen as group CFO, company has announced. He will join the Malta-based casino operator in January 2012, to replace the current financial officer Carl-Johan Burström.
International Association of Gaming Regulators elects first female president
Susan Hensel has been elected president of the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) at its first conference since the organisation was restructured as an independent, non-profit body earlier this year.
PKR signs Triple-Crown winner Cody
British poker player Jake Cody has become the latest member of Team PKR Pro after signing a sponsorship deal with the Alderney-licensed operator.
WorldSpreads has announced that Kevin Moran has resigned from his position as non-executive director of the financial spread betting firm. Moran, who was appointed to the board in April 2002, has left to pursue other business interests.
Email any new moves to t.victor@egrmagazine.com with the subject line ‘eGR People Moves’.