August is proving to be a month of significant developments in North American gaming. This week, SBC Americas highlights the latest changes in personnel affecting key players in the commercial gaming landscape.
Novig has made headlines by appointing industry veteran Adam Warrington as its senior vice president of external affairs. In this capacity, Warrington will manage the company’s communications and responsible trading operations, especially following the rollout of its prediction market available in 47 states.
Earlier this week, Novig launched its sports-focused prediction market platform across all states except Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada, shortly after obtaining registration with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a designated contract market.
"Novig is taking a fundamentally different and consumer-first approach to building this category," said Warrington. "The opportunity to help shape a company where responsibility is embedded into the business, and not layered on afterward, is incredibly compelling. I'm excited to join a team that is focused on earning trust, raising standards and building the future of sports prediction markets."
Prior to this role, Warrington spent three years at Underdog as vice president of responsible gaming and also held an executive position at FanDuel. Novig has also welcomed Elie Mishory as chief regulatory and legal affairs officer; Mishory previously served as an advisor for the Department of Government Efficiency and worked as chief regulatory officer and general counsel at Kalshi.
In another noteworthy shakeup, Scientific Games announced on Monday that CEO Pat McHugh will step down from his position on September 8 after over 20 years with the company. McHugh is retiring but will stay on as an advisor.
"On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Pat for his leadership and his many contributions to Scientific Games over the past two decades," stated David Nowak, Chairman of Scientific Games. "Throughout his career, Pat has helped strengthen the company, expand its global lottery business and build trusted relationships with customers around the world."
The search for McHugh’s permanent successor is underway, and until a new CEO is appointed, Kevin Schneider will step in as interim CEO. Schneider joined the board of directors in 2022 and was elected vice chair earlier this year.
Continent 8 Technologies is also experiencing a leadership change, with Mike Small being appointed as CEO. This transition will see founder Michael Tobin move to the role of chairman after nearly 30 years in the CEO position.
Tobin expressed confidence in Small, indicating that the transition has been well planned. "His experience in scaling global technology businesses and his deep understanding of our customers and strategy makes him the ideal leader to build on the strong foundation we have created," Tobin stated.
Small has previously served in a strategic board advisory role at Continent 8 and was the CEO of the Americas for customer management firm Sitel Group for nearly five years before joining Continent 8.
