The announcement of a potential Paddy Power and Betfair merger has dominated industry headlines this morning. Nevertheless Paddy Power governance delivered a  very strong H1 2015 interim report (period ending 30 June), as the operator posted top metric growth for both digital and retail divisions. Paddy Power would record a group operating profit before taxes of €80 million up 33% on 2014’s …

SIS, supplier of real time betting and data provisions for online and retail betting sectors (sis.tv), has announced the appointment of Nigel Stocks as its new Chief Financial Officer. Stocks joins from Jatomi Fitness, a global health club business that employs over 2,500 people across Eastern Europe and Asia, where he contributed to new business and international expansion initiatives from its …

Targeting further fan coverage ahead of the start of the 2015/16 NFL season (start date 10 September), US daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator DraftKings has announced a partnership with restaurant, leisure and entertainment firm Hooters. The partnership will see an extension of DraftKings ongoing media deal with US sports broadcaster ESPN, as the DFS operator hosts $300,000 Hooters Fantasy Football …

US pro sports betting advocates heard the expected news that a federal appeals panel had upheld the ban of sports betting in New Jersey. The Third Court of Appeals in Philadelphia denied New Jersey’s appeal by a majority decision of 2-1, denying New Jersey the right to bypass the 1992 Professional & Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The New Jersey …

Neil Alexander has stepped down as CEO of PKR after just two months leading the online poker operator. Alexander will be replaced by former bwin.party Group Poker Director Chris Welch. PKR confirmed the departure of Alexander to industry news source EGR Magazine yesterday, further confirming that Welch had been appointed as successor. Alexander a former Managing Director of German online …

Presenting its 2015 interim report (period: January-June) European igaming operator Cherry Gaming recorded increased group revenues of SEK 202 million (£15.3 million) up 35% on H1 2014 SEK 149.5 million (£11.4 million). Cherry Governance stated that it was pleased with the progress of its operations, which were showing good growth which would soon transfer into positive earnings for the group. …

Bwin has confirmed the appointment of Leeds based marketing agency Home to handle its pan-European TV advertising campaign. Home replaces Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam to handle European TV planning for Bwin, the agency is reported to have pitched its services against six other competitors. Bwin has tasked the agency with creating a cross European sports betting campaign which will concentrate …

A veteran in financial strategy for leisure and entertainment markets, Bowcock has held financial directorial roles at Barratt Developments, Hilton Group and Luminar Group Holdings Bowcock will be responsible for William Hill’s group financial operations for land based and online operations. Bowcock will be directly working with CEO James Henderson as the leading UK bookmaker adjusts to new market conditions, …

Since its launch in November 1994, the National Lottery has raised over £33billion for good causes that include sports, arts and heritage, as well as health and education and the environment. In addition, National Lottery funding contributed £2.175 billion towards the costs of staging the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including £750m from designated game sales. Funds are raised …

Betting exchange Matchbook has launched a new collaborative incubator called mLabs which its hopes will foster the next generation of innovative start-ups in the online gambling sector. The new accelerator programme has been launched with the aim of attracting new talent that Matchbook will handpick and mentor in the hope that it can develop and nurture ideas through to product …