UK Football Pools names James Arnold as chief executive 

Arnold has joined the UK Football Pools from LiveScore Group.

UK.- The British betting business The Football Pools has appointed James Arnold as its chief executive in its centenary year. He replaces Derek Lloyd, who had been CEO since July 2017. 

Arnold was previously chief commercial officer at sports betting operator LiveScore Group, which operates Virgin Bet and LiveScore Bet. He joined LiveScore as chief operating officer three years ago. He has also served in marketing and executive positions at Betway, Boylesports and SportingBet. 

Created in 1923, the longstanding Football Pools products were merged into one entity in 2000 when the Littlewoods Pools was acquired by Sportech, which later also bought the Zetters and Vernons pools in 2002 and 2007. The combined business was rebranded as The Football Pools and went online in 2008. A full online sportsbook was launched in 2018 after Sportech sold the business to OpCapita for £83m.

Arnold said: “I’m delighted to be joining such an iconic British brand at a time of significant change and development. A lot of good work has already been done to reposition the company for growth and I look forward to working with the executive team to bring these plans to fruition over the coming months.”