Has Swedish Minister for Public Administration Ardalan Shekarabi been lying about an increase in online gambling during the COVID-19 crisis?

Shekarabi has been one of the loudest advocates for further emergency gambling restrictions on licensed operators, despite an industry-wide consensus that such measures would make it impossible for legitimate sites to compete with unlicensed offshore sites. 

Now, Swedish news site Di.se is saying Shekarabi has been reported to the country’s “Parliament Constitutional Committee” by the opposition for allegedly lying about the increase in online gambling during the crisis at a press conference on 23 April. 

AYO.NEWS says:

As we have said before, we strongly suspect Shakarabi’s support of further draconian restrictions on the gambling industry are ideologically driven, rather than pragmatic, so it really wouldn’t surprise us if it does turn out that he lied to drum up support for his proposals. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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Intralot, the Athens-listed gambling technology and lottery systems supplier, has promoted Byron Booth as Chief Executive of its North American subsidiary INTRALOT Inc. 

Booth has acted as Interim CEO of INTRALOT Inc since last year, and has been with Intralot for thirteen years in total, formerly serving as INTRALOT Inc’s Vice President of Government Relations. 

Boothe will now lead INTRALOT’s US growth plans, which form a key part of Intralot’s overall corporate recovery program. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, in May and June the company launched new betting partnerships in Montana and Washington DC. 

Commenting on the promotion Group CEO of Intralot, Chris Dimitriadis, said:

“Byron has been instrumental in supporting INTRALOT, Inc. and our US operations more than thirteen years. I would like to congratulate him for joining our executive leadership team and I am looking forward to working with him in executing our growth strategy in the United States.”

While Boothe himself added:

“We have an exceptionally talented team at INTRALOT, Inc. that is focused on taking decisive actions to transform the business, continuing to innovate our product in new and diverse ways, and unlocking future growth opportunities. It is an honor to be selected to lead this outstanding team.”

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The Singapore-based Global Esports Federation (GEF) has detailed the members of its Brand, Marketing, Commercial and Communication Commission.

The commission will be led by Lorenzo Giorgetti, GEF Board Member and Chief Commercial Officer of top-flight Italian football club A.C. Milan. 

Commenting on his appointment, Giorgetti said:

“The Global Esports Federation convenes the stakeholders in the world’s dynamic esports community from different backgrounds, geographies and business models.

“I look forward to engaging with the world’s commercial brands – established and those emerging – and the market at large to bring tremendous value to the GEF and our worldwide properties.”

Several other senior sports industry executives are also on the board, including:

• Jerry Ling, chief of staff, World Taekwondo
• Chris Overholt, president and CEO, OverActive Media Group (parent company of MAD Lions, Toronto Defiant, and Toronto Ultra)
• Peter Zeytoonjian, senior vice president, United States Olympic and Paralympic Properties
• Yasuhiro Nakamori, director, sport department, Japanese Olympic Committee
• Ali Kiremitcioglu, executive board member, National Olympic Committee of Turkey
• Anne Kelly Aikman, international sports marketer, former vice president in marketing at the International Olympic Committee
• Marco Nazzari, managing director, international, Nielsen Sports

Backed by Chinese conglomerate Tencent, the GEF launched last year to “convene the world’s esports ecosystem.” Reflecting its ambitious intentions, last month the GEF entered an exploratory partnership with the Commonwealth Games Federation. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though the GEF undoubtedly has some extremely talented and influential people onboard, one has to question if allowing itself to be so dominated by Olympic and former Olympic executives is really the best thing. 

While Olympic athletes are widely respected, the International Olympic Committee, which has attracted persistent allegations of corruption and cronyism, doesn’t exactly have the best public image.

This, coupled with the GEF’s close connections to Tencent, could well cause much of the esports world to reject its attempts to build a cohesive, standardised global esports ecosystem. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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Esports Entertainment Group has appointed Magnus Leppäniemi new Vice President of Marketing and Head of Esports at betting platform VIE.gg.

Leppäniemi is a seasoned veteran of the esports and gaming industry, with more than two decades of sales and marketing experience. Since 1996, he has sold and managed global esports partnerships for major brands and partners including Intel, Ben! Zowie, Electronic Arts, ESL, and the NBA. 

Before joining Malta-based Esports Entertainment Group Leppäniemi was Global Sales Director for Wehype, and prior to that he served as Sales Director North America at DreamHack. 

Commenting on the appointment CEO of Esports Entertainment Group, Gran Johnson, said:

“Magnus is a proven marketing executive with invaluable knowledge of the gaming and esports industry. Over more than two decades in gaming, Magnus has built an extensive network of relationships that could provide tremendous value as we execute on our global growth strategy.”

While Leppäniemi himself added:

“I’m very excited to join the Esports Entertainment team. As the first online betting company to list on NASDAQ, the Company has a great pedigree that we can continue to build on. We want to build trust with the players, fans, teams, publishers, and the community and give them a unique esports experience. 

“Esports betting is here to stay, and we want to build the premier platform in the industry that benefits the gaming and esports communities. I look forward to accelerating our marketing efforts, refining our go-to-market models, and building out our esports initiatives.”

Staying with Esports Entertainment Group, a few weeks ago we reported the company had started onboarding new affiliate marketing partners for its relaunched VIE.gg esports betting platform. 

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Online casino platform provider Digitain has appointed Peter Nolan as its new Strategic Consultant. 

With more than two decades of experience in the iGaming industry behind him, including in senior roles with Ladbrokes and SkyBet, Nolan will be responsible for managing media relations, and consulting on B2B marketing, sales and business strategy at Digitain. 

As a consultant, Nolan has also worked for Betfair, Scottish Television, 188Bet, Plumbee, and Codere. In Brazil he led the development and launch of international horseracing tote business Suaposta – the country’s first legal online service of its kind.

Regarding his appointment, Nolan said:

“Digitain is a renowned market-leader with a widely acclaimed offering, and I’m immensely proud to join such an enthusiastic and skilled team as their Strategic Consultant. I look forward to helping the Digitain team consolidate the remarkable achievements to date, and help them to drive innovation, improve quality and deliver best-in-class customer satisfaction.”

While CCO of Digitain, Suren Khachatryan, welcomed Nolan to the company, saying:

“With a wealth of experience working internationally for some of the industry’s most established businesses, we are thrilled to welcome Peter into the Digitain family. The knowledge and experience he brings to Digitain, gained in a corporate environment and also as a consultant, will deliver fantastic added value to our teams and business.”

Staying with Digitain, last month we reported the company had partnered with slots developer Yggdrasil. 

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Founder and CEO of marketing agency Digital Chain, Iryna Kurochkina, has announced she will be departing the company on 1 July. 

Kurochkina says she is leaving to pursue other projects, and until a replacement is found, the company’s board of shareholders will take over strategic and operational management of the company. 

Reflecting on her time with Digital Chain, Kurochkina, said:

“I have put all of myself into this project and I am incredibly proud of the result that the team and I have achieved. Digital Chain today is a chain of knowledge, inspiration, and support, the most powerful comprehensive expertise, experience in both local and global markets.

“The agency has successfully overcome the turning point of all startups, the first three-year period, and is ready to confidently move on. Plans for the future are outlined, and a new leader’s fresh approach will help to find new and effective ways to achieve them.”

Digital Chain has built a high-profile in the online gambling industry, with 85 clients including Parimatch, PokerMatch, and CASCAD, 72 sponsorship contracts, and over 16,000 advertising campaigns under its belt. 

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