Industry veteran Roger Devlin has been hired by William Hill PLC (WMH.LN) as chairman designate effective Feb. 1, 2018, the sportsbetting company said on Wednesday, according to the Financial Times.
The London-headquartered bookmaker said that following an induction and handover, on April 2, 2018 Devlin will be appointed chairman. Gareth Davis, the current chairman will stand down on that date as well, the company said.
In June 2018, Devlin will reportedly step down from his current position as chairman of sports media group, Sports Information Systems (Holdings) Limited (SIS), in which a 19.5 percent stake is held by William Hill. Likewise, he will cede his non-executive role as director of the English Football Association in June 2018, according to The Telegraph.
Devlin will, however, remain chairman of pub owner Marston’s, according to the news agency.
Devlin joins William Hill on the heels of the Government’s consultation period regarding the level of stakes on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT) and whether to slash them from their current £100 limit to as low as £2.
The Telegraph reports that for a decade, between 2006 and 2016, Devlin held the position as chairman of software developer and operator Gamesys and was additionally on the Ladbrokes board when the Hilton Group owned it.
William Hill senior independent director, Sir Roy Gardner, reportedly said that Devlin had “extensive experience” as a listed company chairman. Gardner thanked Davis as well for his “considerable contribution and commitment to the group in the past seven years”.
