News UK betting and gaming director steps down

Tom Ustunel, betting and gaming director for media giant News UK, has stepped down from his position to pursue new opportunities in the sector.

Ustunel has worked for News UK since 2013, after joining from Rank Group, and during his tenure oversaw a significant expansion of its gaming assets. This included its 2015 deal with Playtech that saw the Sun Bingo and Fabulous Bingo brands migrated to the solutions giant’s bingo network.

That deal was expanded to cover the launch of a casino product, and extended for a further 15 years, in February 2019.

The offering generated revenue of €40.6m for Playtech in 2019, up 20.5% year-over-year, and the product is continuing to take more market share with its low stakes, interactive model, he added.

Ustunel told iGB that he had made the decision to step down from the role prior to novel coronavirus (Covid-19) hitting the UK, he will be pursuing new challenges with other operators focusing outside the UK.

He said Simon Collins, who Ustunel knew before he was appointed managing director of gaming for News UK in November last year, was a “perfect fit” to take the business forward.

Collins joined with the task of expanding the gaming business further, including pursuing new opportunities in different verticals and markets, as well as overseeing core products such as the Dream Team Fantasy football game, Sun Bingo and Sun Racing.