Chambers Becomes Smarkets Chief Compliance Officer
William Chambers has left William Hill, joining exchange operator Smarkets, becoming the new chief compliance officer. Chambers has previous experience in the role, having spent more than three years at Betway.
Chambers Joins Smarkets © Pixabay.
UK-based betting exchange company Smarkets has bolstered its sports betting compliance division with the hiring of William Chambers from rival online bookmakers William Hill – who is also an expert in football betting.
Chambers has taken over from the previous incumbent Chris Baldacchino who held the position of the chief compliance officer at Smarters.
Chambers, who started the role this month, had only been with William Hill for nine months, having joined the operator from taxi replacement service Uber. He previously worked at Betway, serving for three years as head of compliance.
His roles and responsibilities at Smarters include; regulatory compliance, safer gambling, anti-money laundering and leading the company’s operational compliance teams. In addition, he will be tasked with managing compliance matters across Europe and the emerging American market.
On his appointment, Chambers said: “I’ve watched Smarkets for some time and have been really impressed by the team and culture of the business,”
“It’s pretty remarkable what they have achieved so far in this industry given their size and funding to date. Lots of companies talk about innovation, but here it is actually being practised.
“The opportunity right now is huge, not just because new markets are opening across the US, but also because there is the chance to bring customers a better experience in more mature markets,” Chambers added.
Smarkets was founded in 2008 by Jason Trost and Hunter Morris and currently has over 100 employees. In June this year, the company closed a significant minority investment from Susquehanna Growth Equity, allowing the operator to realise its intentions to increase its foothold in Europe and stateside.
The American market is a focus for the company, with the operator already having a presence in Colorado and Indiana. As new states become regulated, the firm hopes to offer its low-margin SBK sportsbook to these territories.
However, Smarkets CEO Jason Trost has stated that they prefer a quality over quantity approach. New Jersey is likely to be top of their wish list, with the state becoming the first to offer a betting exchange with the launch of Sporttrade.
The company is also keen to expand its UK offering and take on the betting exchange giants such as betfair.
Trost said of the investment: “What we really liked about SGE is that they have given us the financial investment that we needed to execute our vision independent of some outside influence or direction.
“They have given us the backing to go and continue to grow the business that we’ve been building for the last 13 years.
“It’s exciting to see a big brand financial institution get involved in sports betting in a major way,” he added.
SGE’s investment puts them alongside Passion Capital and Deutsche Telekom, who have also invested in the company.
Their investment division has already invested over £2bn in seed money across the US, Canada, Europe and Israel. Scott Feldman, the MD of SGE said: “We are delighted to be able to join Smarkets on their upward journey.
“We immediately identified with their vision of using technology to take on the betting industry’s big operators by providing the fairest odds in the world and maintaining a clear focus on product excellence.
“Smarkets has achieved a huge amount with little investment to date and we can’t wait to see them go from strength to strength as they expand further into both the US and UK mainstream market.”
