The one thing you are noticing with some of the latest A-List hires among sports betting companies vying to get into the soon-to-be regulated Ontario online sportsbook market is the diversity of skill sets.
“A lot of people appointed know the sports getting or gaming industry,” Canadian Gaming Association President and CEO Paul Burns said. “But they are bringing in people from different sectors, so it’s an interesting time. You are going to see organizations start to build out more as Ontario becomes more of a significant market. Lots of companies are putting down some pretty good footprints.”
RELATED: Q&A with Paul Burns, Canadian Gaming Association President
The latest announcement comes from FanDuel Ontario, which in October announced the appointment of Dale Hooper as general manager for Canada.
Hooper, a former Deloitte partner and Rogers Communications executive, will help develop and implement FanDuel Group’s long-term strategy in Canada, including for Ontario sports betting apps.
“Dale has a proven track record running high growth enterprises along with strong relationships that will be invaluable to our success in Canada,” FanDuel Group CEO Amy Howe said in a news release. “He is a respected leader known for his ability to scale business units effectively, a critical skill set, as we aim to bring the excitement of our sportsbook and igaming products to Canadian citizens. It’s with great excitement that I welcome him to our team.”
Most recently, Hooper was president and CEO of Cannabis Compliance Inc., which was acquired by Deloitte in 2019. There he developed a company that led the way as a regulatory and operational consultant in Canada’s newly legalized cannabis industry.
At Rogers he was chief brand officer, playing a leadership role in driving the digital transformation and improving customer experience.
NorthStar Names CEO
NorthStar Gaming Inc., earlier in October, announced it was going with veteran tech executive Michael Moskowitz as its new CEO.
Moskowitz was the former chairman and CEO of Panasonic North America. He’ll oversee the launch of the company’s Ontario online casino and sportsbook brands in Canada. He brings a long list of experience in business development. At Panasonic he delivered integrated technology solutions for businesses, government agencies and consumers.
NorthStar was born out of Torstar, the media business and news organization with 128 years of history behind it.
