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NEWS IN BRIEF
Barney Frank to retire from Congress
American Congressman Barney Frank, a long-standing advocate of federal egaming regulation, has announced that he will not seek re-election. The 71-year-old Representative for Massachusetts’ 4th congressional district since 1981, was named among the first co-sponsors of John Campbell’s federal bill in March last year. He was also a supporter of Joe Barton’s bill, and among the witnesses speaking at the sub-committee hearing into the pros and cons of internet poker. His retirement follows that of Ron Paul, another Campbell bill co-sponsor. American Gaming Association president and CEO Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., quoted in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said: “Barney’s stature brought attention to the issue of legalising online gambling, and his defence of online player rights has been admirable.”
NEWS
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GERALD CORBETT STEPS IN AS BETFAIR CHAIRMAN
? Britvic chairman will begin as Ed Wray’s deputy before taking over
Betfair has ended its search for a new chairman, with Britvic Plc chairman Gerald Corbett set to take up the role in the ?rst quarter of this year. Corbett will initially serve under Ed Wray, who in late 2011 announced plans to step down as chairman “at an appropriate time in the future.” Corbett will start as deputy chairman on 3 January before replacing Wray. Corbett, former Woolworths chairman who stepped down from his role with the retail group in 2007, has served on the boards of 11 public companies, four of them as chairman. He is also chairman of Moneysupermarket Plc and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf. Corbett was chief executive of Railtrack between 1997 and 2000, and is currently a non-executive director with stockbrokers Numis and ?nancial advisors Towry Holdings Limited. Wray spoke highly of Corbett, saying his “[C]onsiderable experience of both the City and the commercial world will be a real asset to the board and the business”. Corbett said: “The business has achieved a huge amount in its ?rst 11 years. There are opportunities and challenges, we are well positioned to continue our success.” He is the second high-pro?le appointment in little over a month, after the London-listed operator announced Breon Corcoran would replace David Yu as chief executive in August 2012. Betfair has also appointed industry veteran Nick Hagen to the newly created role of sports operations director. Hagen, who began late last year, joined after more than three years with GTECH G2 where he was most recently chief operating officer for sports betting. He has close to 15 years’ experience working in the egaming industry, having ?rst joined Sporting Index as head of trading in 1997. Hagen will oversee the development of Betfair’s risk-based systems, which the operator expects to play a larger role in the business once its sports site is launched. He is one of several new recruits from the London-listed betting exchange in the past few months, the most recent being former Microsoft UK director of corporate affairs and citizenship Matt Lambert. ?
Morten Rønde new DOGA chief executive
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). Rønde left his position as legal advisor at the beginning of last month after 11 years with the DGA to join the Remote Gambling Associationbacked lobby group, whose formation was announced a week later. Its founding members are Unibet, Bet365, Betfair and Sportingbet, with Danske Spil the latest to join.
PAYNE STEPS DOWN AS SPORTINGBET NON-EXEC
? Nigel Payne leaves after more than 11 years with the business
Payne, alongside non-executive director for the position to retain its independence. Payne joined the business on 15 May Sean O’Connor, announced his departure from the company he once ran at the 2000 as group ?nance director and was operator’s AGM on 16 December. Brian appointed chief executive a year later, Harris, another non-executive director holding the post until 2006 after having will also announce he is to stand down helped ?oat the company on the London Stock Exchange. Current CEO Andy later this year. Despite only being in his current role McIver replaced Payne that year with for ?ve years, Payne told eGaming Review Payne then becoming an independent that main market rules state O V E R A L Lnon-exec and gaming consultant. He is also that if a ? USABILITY non-executive director has served more chairman of private jet operator Hanger ? ENGAGEMENT than?nine years at one listed company, Eight and online golf equipment exchange DESIGN then? PLAYABILITY he or she must stand down in order Golfbidder.co.uk. ?
Widerström leaves bwin. party for Gala Coral
Former PartyGaming COO Per Widerström has left bwin.party to join Gala Coral as managing director of Gala Interactive after only five months at the company. Widerström was made chief integration officer and group games director at bwin.party following the merger in April last year, but resigned from this role in August. He joined Gala Coral at the start of November. In his new role, he will be responsible for Gala Bingo and Gala Casino online, working alongside Coral’s John O’Reilly.
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