Hills appoints Rank's Ciara Nic Liam as new gaming head

William Hill has strengthened its gaming team following the appointment of The Rank Group’s Ciara Nic Liam as its new head of gaming, EGR has learned.

Nic Liam, who was head of casino and games at Rank, began her new role yesterday having worked out a three-month notice period and will report directly into William Hill director of gaming James Curwen.

“Ciara has a strong track record in the sector and her operational skills and experience will further strengthen our team as we continue to expand and improve our gaming offer,” Curwen told EGR this morning.

Nic Liam replaces former head of gaming Nir Hakarmeli, who left earlier this year to become director of gaming operations at rival firm Gala Coral.

And Nic Liam, who will be based in Hills’ Gibraltar office, will be tasked with helping return the operator’s gaming division to growth – Hills’ H1 2016 online gaming net revenues were down 6% to £137.3m, although the firm said it had been impacted by customer cool-offs and self-exclusions.

Prior to joining Rank in 2013, Nic Liam was casino and poker product executive at Paddy Power in Dublin.

Last month William Hill turned down a takeover approach from Rank and consortium partner 888.