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Xace names Annie Osborne as Chief Commercial Officer

Published

5 years ago

March 8, 2021

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Fast growing account and payment services provider strengthens management team as it looks to drive growth across Europe

London: 8 March 2021 – Xace, the fast-growing account and payment provider has added significant industry expertise to its senior team with the key appointment of Annie Osborne as Chief Commercial Officer, further strengthening its position as a specialist gaming payment account provider.

As Chief Commercial Officer, Annie will be responsible for shaping & executing Xace’s Commercial Sales & Marketing strategies, including Product Development & Customer Experience, reporting directly to Xace CEO David Hodkinson.

With a distinguished ten-plus-year payments career, with roles held at big-name companies including American Express and ACI, Annie has unrivalled experience in international merchant banking, payments & fraud management, covering an expanse of verticals including enterprise retail, Gaming, Hospitality & Entertainment.

Xace has expanded rapidly since launching under a year ago and particularly among gaming companies that struggle to acquire traditional high-street bank accounts. The company already counts some of gaming’s most well-known and respected businesses as customers.

Xace currently provides EUR and GBP business and personal accounts, each with virtual debit cards, throughout Europe. The company has ambitious plans to further expand throughout Europe this year, with Osborne playing a key role in driving growth.

David Hodkinson, Xace CEO, said: “I am delighted to welcome Annie to the team and for Xace to leverage her tremendous knowledge and experience not only of international payments but also of the global gambling industry as we continue to expand rapidly.

“Xace provides a quality solution to a common problem that gaming companies across Europe encounter and this has seen us ride an incredible wave of growth in our first year. We now want to build on that and with Annie on board as CCO it will undoubtedly be another successful year for Xace.”

Annie Osborne, Chief Commercial Officer at Xace, said: “I’m delighted and immensely proud to be joining Xace at this stage of its growth. It is an incredibly exciting opportunity and I am looking forward to playing a part in its continued success as the business expands its reach across Europe over the coming months.

“Its product offering, especially to gaming businesses, has led Xace to become the account and payment provider of choice for a number of companies both in and out of the sector. Now is the time to rapidly scale up and I look forward to playing my part in continuing the impressive journey.”

AB Trav och Galopp

Richard Woodbridge Elected to ATG Board of Directors

Published

22 minutes ago

May 11, 2026

Wladimir P.

richard-woodbridge-elected-to-atg-board-of-directors

At the Annual General Meeting of AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) on Thursday, May 7, 2026, Richard Woodbridge, CEO of Scandinavian Heritage AB, was elected as a new independent member of ATG’s board. He succeeds Mårten Forste, who left the board at the end of 2025.

“We welcome Richard to ATG’s board. His solid experience from the gaming market will add significant value to the board’s work,” said Peter Norman, chairman of ATG.

“I am pleased and grateful for the trust in me to take a seat on ATG’s board. ATG is a very strong company and brand with an important role in both gaming and horse racing, and I look forward to future collaboration with the rest of the board,” said Richard Woodbridge.

The Nomination Committee’s proposal for re-election of other board members was approved by the meeting.

ATG’s board thus consists of:

• Peter Norman (Chairman, independent)

• Boris Lennerhov (Vice Chairman, trotting representative)

• Katarina G. Bonde (Board member, independent)

• Marie Osberg (Board member, independent)

• Richard Woodbridge (Board member, independent)

• Marie Thelander Dellhag (Board member, trotting representative)

• Anders Lilius (Board member, galloping representative)

Employee representatives on the board:

• Björn Haglund (Board member, employee representative)

• Camilla Hasselström (Board member, employee representative)

• Alternates: Gustav Enström and Leo Wilson, both employee representatives.

The post Richard Woodbridge Elected to ATG Board of Directors appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

affiliate marketing

ReferOn completes management buyout as Alex Bukin becomes CEO

Published

22 minutes ago

May 11, 2026

Wladimir P.

referon-completes-management-buyout-as-alex-bukin-becomes-ceo

ReferOn has completed a management buyout, with former General Manager Alex Bukin acquiring the iGaming affiliate management platform and taking over as Chief Executive Officer.

Bukin said the deal is intended to support longer-term product and market plans: “This is an important moment for ReferOn and the beginning of a new chapter for the business. The management buyout provides us with the long-term focus required to continually advance the platform. We remain committed to product development, strengthening our offerings for partners, and supporting ReferOn’s continued growth across key markets.”

ReferOn reported that in its first 12 months post-launch it recorded 35.7 million clicks, 2.4 million registrations, 18,000 affiliates, and 136,000 active trackers. The company also said it was named “Best Affiliate Platform” in 2025 and 2026 by industry stakeholders.

The company said the ownership change will not affect day-to-day operations and that existing support and partnerships will continue. It also pointed to recent product updates including Refie, described as a built-in interface layer, alongside features such as dynamic reporting, Company Grouping, Sub-Affiliation, Independent Deal Calculation (IDC), two-factor authentication (2FA), and mobile optimization.

As part of the transition, ReferOn said its leadership team remains in place, with Vlad Bondarenko moving from Head of Product to Chief Product Officer and David Harris moving from Operations Lead to Chief Operations Officer.

The post ReferOn completes management buyout as Alex Bukin becomes CEO appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

ELA Games

ELA Games’ Joker Winpot shortlisted for Game of the Year at SBC Awards Americas

Published

22 minutes ago

May 11, 2026

Wladimir P.

ela-games’-joker-winpot-shortlisted-for-game-of-the-year-at-sbc-awards-americas

ELA Games said its slot title Joker Winpot has been shortlisted for “Game of the Year” at the 2026 SBC Awards Americas, with winners set to be revealed on June 10, 2026 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The company described Joker Winpot as a consistent performer in its portfolio, combining a dark, character-driven theme with a 1×1 grid format.

ELA Games said the title’s core differentiator is its proprietary Winpot mechanic, a progression-based feature built around player choice. As rewards build inside the Winpot, players can either cash out or keep spinning in pursuit of higher payouts.

The 2026 SBC Awards Americas ceremony will take place at the Broward County Convention Center. Organizers expect around 600 industry professionals, with the awards running alongside SBC Summit Americas from June 9–11.

The post ELA Games’ Joker Winpot shortlisted for Game of the Year at SBC Awards Americas appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.