Mr Green appoints telecoms exec as CEO of esports JV

Mr Green parent company MRG has confirmed the appointment of Niklas Grawé as the new CEO of its esports joint venture with Gamingzone Entertainment.

Grawé, who is currently chief commercial officer at the Swedish arm of 3 Mobile, will be responsible for developing “a new community for esports fans with focus on entertainment, news and gaming possibilities.”

Grawé joined the 3 group in 2009, overseeing the creation and development of telecom operator Hallon, and has also worked on the development of Groupon and Wayfinder.

To date no announcement has been made concerning the name of the new esports JV business, which has still to be decided.

Grawé replaces Karl Mikael Cakste, one of the founders of Gamingzone, who was initially appointed as CEO of the joint venture at its creation in May.

Addressing his appointment as CEO, Grawé said: “It’s awesome to get this opportunity to build a new, unique community for esports fan across the world. Our ambition is to create a community where all esports fans love to spend time.”

Per Norman, CEO of MRG, welcomed the appointment of Grawé who “has the perfect experience to drive our innovative esports venture”.

Norman added: “Niklas combines strong leadership skills with innovative entrepreneurial thinking and digital competence.”

As a part of the joint venture arrangement, MRG owns 55% of shares in the business, while Gamingzone Entertainment owns the remaining 45% share.

The appointment of Grawé comes less than 24 hours after the MRG group was awarded a licence to operate sports betting in Denmark, alongside its online casino and bingo offerings.

Norman confirmed that sports betting will be launched soon, adding: “It´s great that we now can introduce our strong sportsbook offering also in Denmark.”