GVC Holdings has announced that Paul Bowtell is to step down as chief financial officer, while reporting an increase of 28 per cent in online net gaming revenues during the third quarter thanks to the FIFA World Cup.
Rob Wood, who had been CFO of Ladbrokes Coral, has been appointed as deputy CFO with immediate effect by the multi-national betting and gaming group. He will ultimately take over as CFO from the departing Bowtell, who is stepping down as of March 5, 2019.
Lee Feldman, GVC’s chairman, said: “Having undertaken a rigorous selection process, we are delighted to appoint Rob as our Chief Financial Officer designate. Rob will be a great addition to the Board and his appointment demonstrates the strong bench of talent within GVC.”
In the third quarter of 2018 up to September 30, GVC’s net gaming revenue in sports grew 31 per cent and games 19 per cent, while in UK retail like-for-like NGR dropped by only two per cent, thanks to a positive second half of the World Cup.
European retail NGR rose 24 per cent, boosted by strong growth in Italy, with total group NGR coming in up by 14 per cent.
GVC Holdings CEO Kenneth Alexander said: “The Group’s performance in the quarter was very pleasing with momentum continuing across the online and European retail divisions. As highlighted in our H1 results, we will look to consolidate our position in markets where we are taking market share through the reinvestment of excess returns, and the board is confident in its full year expectations.
“We believe our sports-betting joint venture with MGM is best placed to be the market leader in the US and we have taken the first steps on that journey with the soft-launch of our sports-betting app in New Jersey. We have also recently announced a series of CSR measures including a multi-million pound commitment to responsible gambling initiatives and a call for a pre-watershed ban of TV advertising in the UK around football and other live sports.
“The industry continues to evolve and whilst there are challenges there are also many exciting opportunities. Through our proprietary technology, portfolio of brands, leading product and talent, GVC is well placed to continue to deliver shareholder value.”
