SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
A week following its announcement that it will launch its sportsbook venture by the start of the 2022/2023 football season, global sports OTT platform DAZN Group has confirmed that Mark Kemp will lead its new sportsbook unit as Chief Executive of DAZN BET. 
As CEO DAZN BET, Kemp will work towards the venture’s goal to ‘revitalise’ and ‘disrupt’ the casual betting market by developing a betting service that will be converged with its OTT platform.
DAZN aims to create a ‘fun, convenient and integrated betting experience’ for its customers, to coexist alongside its streaming of sports such as boxing and top-flight football across multiple jurisdictions.
Kemp remarked: “I am delighted to be joining DAZN BET to launch such a new and exciting international brand. With the strength and expertise of DAZN in sports media, we will deliver something recreational and relevant to today’s audience.
“I am looking forward to working with the new team and DAZN to build an engaging and responsible new entertainment proposition for sports fans across the world.”
The new CEO’s time in the sports betting industry has seen Kemp serve as Managing Director of Ladbrokes Coral, during which time he led the brands’ omni-channel strategy following the merger, after which he became Managing Director of the UK Tote and later the CEO of BoyleSports.
DAZN made its expansion plans for the betting industry clear last year, appointing former Entain executives Ian Turnball as EVP of Betting and Sandeep Tiku as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to coordinate its strategy.
Last week, the company revealed that its DAZN BET sportsbook product would launch later this year, partnering with Pragmatic Play as its solutions provider – the latter firm also made its debut in sports betting this year, launching its unproven sportsbook platform this month.
Welcoming Kemp to his new role at DAZN BET, Turnbull commented:“Sports betting partnerships are just one of the ways in which DAZN is going to deliver more exciting and richer content for its customers. We know that fans want more integrated, immersive, and interactive experiences as they enjoy long form content. DAZN is giving them that.”
