With mergers and acquisitions often occurring throughout the business, online casino and sports betting operators Checkd Group, Parimatch, and Strive Gaming appear in our latest roundup of recent maneuvers.

Parimatch

Parimatch Russia has announced that Dmitry Sergeev would take command of the company’s Eastern European operations, taking on responsibility for the region’s growth plan. Sergeev will oversee franchise implementation in the region as the head of Parimatch Eastern Europe for Parimatch Russia, which is preparing to split from Parimatch CIS in the new year.

Following the anticipated separation, the former CEO of Parimatch CIS will implement an expansion strategy across the region’s markets based on the acquisition of local betting licenses. “Russia has enormous future growth potential, and our continuing expansion across the area requires an increasing amount of effort from each of us on the team, which I’m happy to lead,” Sergeev noted. “Our franchise-based expansion into Eastern Europe is a new approach for us and will prove to be an extremely ambitious undertaking that both myself and our staff will embrace. Always committed to excellence, we will do all possible to meet our shareholders’ expectations and increase brand awareness throughout Europe.”

Checkd Group

Checkd Group is expanding “what has quickly become an integral component of our diverse product offering” with the addition of two poker professionals to its Checkd Media poker branch. This resulted in the appointment of Lee Johnston as poker manager and Sophia Darling as a poker executive at the Manchester-based company.

The two will be in charge of Checkd’s poker strategy, which the PokerStars-powered Footy Accumulators Poker League will anchor. “The Footy Accumulators Poker League continues to grow in strength and has gained new momentum as a result of our new collaboration with PokerStars, the world’s leading real money online poker site,” said Alex Beecham, Checkd Media managing director.”Both Lee and Sophia bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise from the world of poker. We’re thrilled to have them on board as we continue to expand what has quickly become a critical component of our diverse product offering, driving traffic and delivering rich entertainment for our communities.”

Ian Williams has been named president of Wynn Wynn Resorts’ online sports betting and casino division, Wynn Interactive. Williams will oversee the segment’s day-to-day operations. Williams, a 20-year veteran of the gaming business, joined WynnBet as chief operating officer in October after serving as president of online gaming at Churchill Downs, where he contributed to the firm’s interactive segment. He is also credited for initiating Churchill Downs’ real money sports and igaming companies.

SkyCity

SkyCity Entertainment Group has announced that Julian Cook has been appointed chair-elect of the company’s board of directors, succeeding current chairman Rob Campbell as a director. The board of directors of the casino and entertainment operator unanimously approved the decision, which takes effect this week, in order to facilitate an orderly transition and handover period. On January 1, 2022, Cook will officially succeed Campbell as chairman.

“Over the last year, we have made considerable progress in refreshing the SkyCity board, and I am happy that Julian has been chosen by the SkyCity board to lead SkyCity as the new chair beginning January 1, 2022,” Campbell said.

Strive Online Gaming

Haig Sakouyan has been appointed vice president of client success at Strive Gaming. He joins from Bally Interactive, a subsidiary of Bally’s Corporation, via the Bet. Works acquisition. Haig was hired as vice president of business-to-business sales and was responsible for partnerships with Elite Casino Resorts, theScore, and Rushmore Ga.