PointsBet has nominated William Grounds to its board as an independent non-executive director, in line with its recent activity in the US market.
Grounds previously served as president and chief operating officer of Infinity World Development Corp, an affiliate of Dubai World. Here, he headed up the $7bn (£5.69bn/€6.64bn) investment in CityCenter Resort & Casino in Las Vegas with joint venture partner MGM Resorts International.
He also served as a non-executive director of MGM Resorts International between 2013 and 2021. In this time, the BetMGM venture with Entain was formed after the repeal of PASPA. MGM said this gave Grounds a deep understanding of the igaming market with experience in ongoing governance and oversight of strategy and execution.
He has also been licensed in a number of jurisdictions in the United States.
The appointment comes after the Australia-founded bookmaker has expanded its operations in the US igaming market. The company intends to rapidly grow its already prominent presence in the country following launches in New Jersey, Iowa, Illinois and Colorado.
“We welcome William Grounds and look forward to his contribution as an independent non-executive director,” PointsBet chairman Brett Paton said.
“William has tremendous international business and governance experience, with particular strengths in the areas of US sports betting, gaming and casino.
“Further, adding an additional US-based director ensures we continue to have the appropriate level of governance and oversight on the ground in the expanding and ever-evolving North American market.”
PointsBet partnerships
PointsBet has already earned itself recognition in the US sports-igaming sector with partnerships with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and PGA Tour.
The bookmaker’s biggest partnership though is with NBC Sports, where in August 2020 the two agreed to a $500m deal that would make PointsBet the exclusive provider of odds, props and trends across the Comcast-owned media giant’s linear and digital channels – including its Peacock streaming service.
