Czech sportsbook and lottery operator Fortuna Entertainment Group has appointed Radim Haluza as its new CEO. Haluza, who prior to the appointment acted as Fortuna’s sportsbetting COO, replaces interim CEO Wilf Walsh, who assumed the mantle in December after Jiri Bunda exited the building. Haluza says his priority is to boost Fortuna’s sportsbetting business, particularly online and mobile, and to “focus on our goal to become a strong number-two in the Czech lottery market and to reach a break-even of the lottery project in the first half of 2013.”
Northstar Lottery Group, the consortium that operates the Illinois Lottery, has appointed Marco Tasso as CEO. Northstar is majority owned by Italian outfit Lottomatica, with Scientific Games holding a 20% stake. Tasso, who served six years as Lottomatica’s VP for Lottery and Services, replaces Connie Laverty O’Connor, who returns to her previous post as chief marketing officer for Lottomatica’s GTECH subsidiary, but will also serve as vice-chair on Northstar’s board of directors.
Interactive gaming and betting solution provider OpenBet has inked a deal to bring peer-to-peer online software provider Mahjong Logic’s turnkey mahjong solution to OpenBet’s licensees. The deal is online to start, but OpenBet is promising that customers will eventually be able to access via mobile, the retail outlets of OpenBet’s sportsbetting licensees and interactive digital television. OpenBet’s commercial partner manager Max Francis said that in a world in which Asian influence is spreading rapidly, it was crucial to have a quality mahjong product to offer customers.
Mobile and multi-platform outfit OMI Gaming has inked a multi-year deal with white label gaming distributor EveryMatrix. The deal makes OMI-developed mobile and social games available to EveryMatrix customers through its GamMatrix gaming management platform via the Mobile 360 product suite.
