The U.S. commercial gaming industry saw significant workforce shifts in the first week of July, affecting major players across the nation. Each week, SBC Americas reports on the latest personnel adjustments, including hires, promotions, exits, and new appointments.
In a notable change, Underdog is in the market for a new vice president of VIP and player experience following Dillon Borgida's departure. After more than two years with the gaming company, Borgida left earlier this week. His background in the gaming sector includes roles at DraftKings, William Hill, and FanDuel, where he focused on VIP services. This exit comes on the heels of Underdog's workforce reduction in March, which cut approximately 20% of its 500 employees, impacting compliance, human resources, and product development teams.
Just days after the layoffs were announced, Underdog confirmed its acquisition of Aristotle Exchange, the operator behind the PredictIt prediction market platform, which is registered as a designated contract market and a derivatives clearing organization with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
On another front, Soft2Bet expanded its executive team this week by hiring Ryan Collinge as the new executive vice president of group business development and strategic partnerships. Collinge joins Soft2Bet after resigning from Gaming Innovation Group (GiG), where he was vice president of business development. His extensive experience also includes roles at Inspired Entertainment and Blueprint Gaming.
Collinge's appointment adds to a series of strategic hires for Soft2Bet this year. Earlier in January, former GiG Chief Business Officer Andrew Cochrane was brought on as COO, while Christopher Anwyl became VP of commercial after his time as director of international B2B operations at DraftKings. Harrison Barrett also recently joined the company as VP of business development, having previously worked at GiG as a director.
In governance news, the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) named Sean J. Ostrow as its new executive director on Wednesday. Ostrow, who was previously a managing director at SGLA, takes over from Jeff Duncan. "Sean has played a vital role in establishing SGLA as a credible advocate for the Social Plus gaming sector," Duncan commented. Under Ostrow’s leadership, the SGLA aims to continue promoting innovation and responsible social gameplay.
Ostrow's elevation came alongside the appointment of four new board members: Derek Brinkman, Lloyd Melnick, Bryan Schroeder, and Jeff Duncan moving to the board.
Finally, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) is looking to hire a director of strategy for a financial services and trading initiative. This position, which was advertised this week, is crucial as the NCPG ventures into the prediction market domain. This hiring comes just two months after the NCPG entered a notable partnership with Kalshi, which became the first prediction market to align with the council. As part of this partnership, Kalshi is committed to investing $2 million in the NCPG. However, this agreement has sparked controversy, most notably with the Michigan Gaming Control Board opting to end its membership with the NCPG, citing concerns that the council's focus on prediction markets clashes with its foundational mission.
