Sérgio Paulino

Jon is the former CFO of 32Red plc

World Leading online lotto betting operator Lottoland, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jon Hale as Chief Financial Officer.

Jon was the Chief Financial Officer for over eleven years at Gibraltar-based 32Red plc where he was instrumental in several corporate transactions, culminating in the £176m sale to the Kindred Group Plc in June 2017. Prior to his time at 32Red plc, Jon qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1998, before joining Capital Corporation plc, an operator of high roller land-based casinos. Jon has also co-founded Property Internet Plc and served as Finance Director of the Sports Café Group Ltd; overseeing significant growth in the group’s portfolio and its admission to AIM in December 2001.

Lottoland CEO Nigel Birrell said: “I am delighted to announce that we have appointed Jon as our new Chief Financial Officer. Jon brings with him a wealth of gaming experience and knowledge that we will benefit from as we continue to grow and deliver on our strategy.”

Jon Hale commented: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Lottoland team and can’t wait to meet everyone and get settled in. Having been based in Gibraltar, I’ve seen first-hand how Lottoland has developed and grown, and I really admire how they have done so in such a short space of time. I look forward to working with Nigel and the team as the Group continues on its growth journey.”

Jon joins Lottoland with immediate effect and will report into Nigel Birrell.

Steering group now represents every aspect of the industry

Providing more perspective as we drive forward and grow

13^th MAY 2021

World leading online Lotto Betting Operator Lottoland announces decision to join the All-In Diversity project – an industry-driven initiative to benchmark diversity, equality and inclusion for the global betting and gaming sector.

Nigel Birrell CEO says: “Lottoland is really pleased to join the All-in Diversity project as a Founding Member. As a global employer – employing people from 29 nationalities and speaking between us 30 different languages, Lottoland is committed to providing a fun, safe and fully inclusive culture where our people feel like they are truly part of the Lottoland family. We are a multicultural business that celebrates, values and respects individual differences, no matter what your sexuality, gender, gender identity, age, ability, race, religion or beliefs are, all of our employees have a voice, and we provide an environment to ensure everyone can do their best work. We are committed to continuously evaluating and improving our ways of working and we look forward to working with our partners to make our industry a more inclusive environment.”

“Over the past year, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion has taken a much bigger stage within our businesses and across our industry. It has become imperative that we work together across all products, departments, jurisdictions and roles to improve how we do business and how we value our people. Lottery is a significant sector of the industry and having this perspective as we drive forward will benefit all businesses involved. Having Lottoland supporting the Project is incredibly important as it means that we now have a Steering Group that is representative of absolutely every aspect of the industry, including lottery – not only the most popular and widely acceptable face of the gaming industry across the world but also a product which embodies diversity, equality and inclusion like no other. We are very proud to welcome them aboard,” says Christina Thakor-Rankin, Co-Founder of All-in Diversity Project.

The All-in Diversity Project is a non-profit dedicated to helping businesses and industry improve Diversity, Equality & Inclusion. All-in is a central resource for data and tools that help businesses make DEI a successful business strategy. Our Founding Members provide guidance and support sharing best practices and resources. Lottoland joins the likes of Entain, Microgaming, IGT, SiS, Caesars, Betsson, Scientific Games, Flutter, Gaming Innovation Group, and Kindred Group.

Lottoland’s Android app is now available to download from the Google Play Store in four regions.

As of the 7th April, the Lottoland app is now also available in the Google Play Store for users in Sweden and Australia following Google’s decision earlier in March 2021 to adjust its access guidelines to allow gambling apps in additional jurisdictions.

Sweden is the most active market for Android downloads with an average of five downloads per smartphone user per month, according to mobile market research group research2guidance.

App users can bet on the outcome of draws, get the latest results and, if theirs are winning bets, win real money with the chance of becoming a jackpot millionaire.

Lottoland CEO Nigel Birrell said: “We are very excited that the Lottoland app is becoming more readily available to Android users and anyone using the Google Play Store. A significant percentage of the population own Android smartphones and a huge 85% of the app market is maintained by Android, so this is definitely a reason to celebrate.

We know that a large portion of Lottoland users find and communicate with us via mobile devices and we can’t wait to see how these new audiences in Sweden and Australia get on.”

Google’s Play Store celebrated 28 billion downloads globally in 2020, a figure that has increased year on year as the popularity of apps continues to rise and consumers rely more heavily on smartphones for their daily life.