Betway marketing has moved to expand its brand coverage within esports by agreeing to sponsor three ESL competitions in 2018. Agreeing on terms with ESL, the leading esports pro tournament organisation, Betway will sponsor the ESL’s ‘Intel Extreme Masters’ (IEM) and ‘ESL One’ tournament series, starting with the sponsorship of ‘IEM Katowice’ this February. The bookmaker further boosts its esports tournament …

Neil McArthur the General Counsel of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), will act as the interim leader of the regulatory body following the departure of Chief Executive Sarah Harrison at the end of this month. Last December, the UKGC announced that Sarah Harrison would not renew her tenure as Chief Executive of the Commission, choosing to join the UK Department …

Deemed as the most unpredictable ‘Oscars Race’ in Hollywood’s history, how confident are bookmakers of predicting the winners of this weekend’s 90th Academy Awards (4 March). Bookies Corner gets the lowdown on Hollywood’s eclectic field of movie contenders, and what factors are weighed up when pricing Oscar markets. Does box office success or critical opinion even matter, and do political …

William Hill’s new leadership team is confident of delivering the FTSE bookmaker’s ‘next chapter’ having closed a group-wide transformative 2017. The bookmaker’s £238 million impairment charge on the value of its Australian business, dominated industry headlines last week, as William Hill Chief Executive Philip Bowcock presented full-year 2017 results. Despite the Australian downturn, Bowcock details to investors that William Hill has undertaken …

Sky Betting & Gaming (SB&G) has selected Leeds based cancer support organisation Candlelighters as its official charity partner for 2018. Candlelighters supports families coping with children’s cancer within the Yorkshire area, providing counselling, clinics, group therapy and financial support. The cancer support charity had been selected by SB&G employees following the successful pitch put forward by Receptionist Chloe Cross, on …

Digital sports publisher Snack Media has moved to expand its media network by investing in Vital Football, a creator of digital football communities, information and content. The undisclosed investment will see Snack Media revamp Vital Football’s legacy website, and further improve its associated football communities’ monetisation, fan engagements and content solutions. Further to the investment, Snack Media CEO & Co-founder Niall …

Further to publishing its full-year 2017 results, FTSE-listed William Hill Plc has today confirmed the appointment of former Betsson AB Group President & CEO Ulrik Bengtsson to the newly created role of Group Chief Digital Officer. Bengtsson is expected to join the group’s leadership team this April and will report directly to William Hill CEO Philip Bowcock as a member …

Industry charity GambleAware seeks a new creative marketing agency, to lead its £7 million TV advertising account. GambleAware is currently planning its next UK marketing campaign, focusing on raising public awareness of problem gambling, targeting ‘low-level players’ who may be at risk of becoming addicts. The industry charity will run its creative marketing pitch through the Incorporated Society of British …

Stockholm-listed online gambling operator Kindred Group Plc has confirmed the promotion of Fredrik Kjell to Chief Product Officer (CPO). Kjell takes leadership of group product development, management and delivery from former incumbent Daniel Eskola, who this month departed Kindred’s executive team, joining industry software supplier Relax Gaming as new Chief Executive. A Kindred senior executive since 2016, Kjell has previously …

The Gambling Commission has found “systemic” failings within the AML and social responsibility processes of WHG (International) Limited (that trades as William Hill Online). Those failings resulted in it repeatedly, over a 21 month period between 2014 and 2016, breaching (a) its licence condition requiring compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and (b) LCCP social responsibility code provision 3.4.1 (customer interaction) in its dealings …