News UK head of betting steps down to join start-up

Simon Collins has resigned from the position he took up in 2019.

UK.- Simon Collins has resigned from his position as managing director of betting and gaming at the media conglomerate News UK to take up a role with a new start-up.

Collins was appointed to the position at News UK in November 2019. He oversaw brands such as Sun Bingo, Sun Racing and the fantasy sports product Dream Team.

He said he planned to return to the start-up sphere, having previously co-founded the Foxy Bingo operator Cashcade, which was sold to PartyGaming for £95.9m in 2009. He later worked with Gaming Realms.

Jo Bucci, general manager of The Sun, has been named as Collins’ replacement in the role. She was managing director of The People’s Postcode Lottery for 11 years and during that time spent 19 months as chair of the Lotteries Council. 

She has been general manager of The Sun since 2019 and before that served as chief operating officer for News UK’s Wireless brand. 

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Collins said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at News UK. It’s been a pleasure to work with such a talented team to develop some of the most popular gaming products in the UK environment – from Dream Team to Sun Bingo.

“That said, my roots – and my heart – lay in the start-up space, and the lure of the new opportunities there was just too strong.”

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Scott Taunton, chief executive of News UK’s Wireless brand, said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Simon for his hard work and entrepreneurialism over the last year.

“Simon has led the betting and gaming team during an important phase, focusing on new product development alongside driving strong revenues in this space.”