Dave Hammond has departed the UK Tote Group, where he served as chief operating officer (COO) and was a director at the Wigan-based parent of the Tote.
The 51-year-old joined the business in 2023 as chief commercial officer, before being promoted to COO last July.
Prior to his arrival at the UK Tote Group, Hammond was CEO of sports betting and blockchain startup Spartos for a brief spell in 2018, following by more than three years as executive chairman.
He also founded consulting firm Bet Consultancy, and for nearly two years from early 2020 was senior vice-present for retail and technical operations at DraftKings.
The role was based out of the US operator’s Bulgarian office.
Hammond also served as COO at SBTech prior to special purpose acquisition company Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp’s swoop for both DraftKings and the supplier in a $3.3bn deal that completed in April 2020.
His longest spell with a single company in the gambling industry was at Inspired Gaming, where he spent almost a decade in various roles culminating in the position of senior vice-president of mobile in 2015.
From there, he was hired by Paddy Power Betfair as director of retail product and innovation, before more than two years spent as B2B director at the bookmaker.
Alex Frost, UK Tote Group CEO, told EGR: “We’d like to thank Dave for his significant contribution to the Tote’s growth during his time as part of our team.
“He’s taking a much overdue career break and will always remain a close friend to the business. We wish him all the very best for the future.”
Last month, the UK Tote Group’s communications and corporate affairs director since 2018, Susannah Gill, was appointed executive director of the Large Independent Racecourse Group.
Elsewhere, the UK Tote Group’s chief revenue officer, Paddy Desmond, warned last week that the biggest racing fans have been “kicked out of the ecosystem” because of affordability checks.
Affordability checks – classed as financial risk assessments by the Gambling Commission – continue to prove to be unpopular among the betting public, with a YouGov poll commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council finding that almost two-thirds (65%) of bettors wouldn’t be willing to comply with the checks.
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The post UK Tote Group COO steps down from role first appeared on EGR Intel.
Industry veteran Dave Hammond leaves his post following a three-year stint at the pool-betting operator
The post UK Tote Group COO steps down from role first appeared on EGR Intel.