JDitigal appoints Vota as first CEO

Spanish online gaming association JDigital has appointed Andrea Vota as its first chief executive after a change in the organisation’s structure that also sees Bet365, Betway and Codere join its board of directors.

Vota previously worked in public relations at e-scooter business Circ and at multi-national corporation trade body Multinacionales por marca España. Vota is also co-founder of anti-food waste organisation Equoevento España.

"I am very grateful to Jdigital for their trust and very happy to be able to contribute my knowledge and experience to the association at such a delicate moment for the sector," Vota said.

Meanwhile, Bet365, Betway and Codere will all join JDigital’s board of directors, joining operators Sportium, Paddy Power Betfair, Botemania, Luckia, GVC and William Hill, as well as suppliers Playtech and Paysafe.

The new board will consist of a president, a vice president and eight members, with positions rotating every three months, with the first rotation occurring in September.

The change in structure comes at a time when online gambling is set to face many new marketing restrictions.

New rules - submitted to the EC earlier this month - would include a ban on bonuses and sports sponsorship for gambling operators. These would come on top of measures introduced in February which, among other restrictions, limited the allowed hours of gambling advertising on radio & TV to between 1:00AM and 5:00AM.

Last week, JDigital sent its views on these changes to the European Commission (EC), expressing “bewilderment”, calling the rules “disproportionate and unjustified” and arguing the changes were not based on data.

“The online gaming industry faces very important challenges for its survival, and for this reason, at Jdigital we will fight with all available resources to tackle any foolish decisions that may harm a secure and fully regulated sector, avoiding the subsequent destruction of jobs,” Vota said.

“We face a fundamental challenge, to protect the reputation of a self-regulated sector, which thanks to new technologies offers guarantees to users, consumers and, above all, to the vulnerable population."