by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
Nigel Payne, an old hand in the online casino gambling business, was recently appointed non-executive chairman of the board in skilled games development at GameAccount. Payne, who worked at one time as Chief Executive at Sportingbet.com, now joins the ranks of shareholders like Betfair founder Andrew Black, Dermot Desmond and the Smurfit family.
Within a year of his joining Sportingbet.com, Payne accepted the position of Group Chief Executive. He maintained his position with the company for five years before stepping down in 2006 to Andrew McIver. Payne was the driving force behind Sportbet, having led the company through a listing on the London Stock Exchange.
GameAccount, based out of London is licensed by the UK Gaming Commission and was established in 2001. Since then the company has toiled away to provide online casino gaming to over 130 countries worldwide. Among the many services provided by GameAccount affiliates like William Hill, Sportingbet Europe, Stan James, Victor Chandler Internation, BlueSquare, Boylessports, Paddy Power and Gala Coral are a regulated online sportsbook, casino and poker room with a single-wallet skill gaming portfolio.
“We’re extremely excited to have Nigel on board. His experience and knowledge of the industry is second to none and we’re looking forward to working closely with him over the coming months,” said Kevin Dale, GameAccount Chief Executive Officer.
Payne accepted his new position saying, “I’m thrilled to now be working with one of the largest gaming communities in the world. Multiplayer Blackjack, Dominoes and Backgammon are becoming more and more popular by the day – these are exciting times.”