PlayUp appoints Dennis Drazin to board of directors in continued US push

Australian betting operator PlayUp has appointed Monmouth Park CEO and industry veteran Dennis Drazin to its board of directors, to work closely with its US CEO Dr Laila Mintas.

Drazin is the chairman and CEO of New Jersey’s largest racetrack Darby Development LLC and was instrumental in the state’s case for legalized sports betting which led to the repeal of PASPA in 2018.

He is in the process of bringing fixed-odds racing betting to New Jersey via a deal with Australian oddsmaker BetMakers.

Dennis Drazin, Chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, the operators of Monmouth Park Racetrack, speaks to the media about the historic Sports Betting case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday May 14, 2018 in Oceanport, New Jersey. Monmouth Park is poised to begin taking sports bets in the near future. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO

He will offer up his expertise and experience in US sports betting as PlayUp starts to build its presence in the States.

On the appointment Dr Mintas said: “I am delighted to have Dennis joining PlayUp´s board of directors.

“Dennis will be providing significant help in guiding us through the horseracing landscape in the US as he was instrumental in legalizing sports betting across the US and also innovates in the fixed odds horseracing space,” she told EGR NA.

“PlayUp is very successful in offering fixed odds horse racing products in Australia. We are convinced that we will be seeing this sector growing in the next years in the US as well.”

Drazin said: “I am very excited to join PlayUp and look forward to utilizing my many years of experience and industry leadership to develop and expand PlayUp’s extensive strategy as they look to grow their USA and global presence in online betting.”

The operator is preparing to launch its proprietary platform in the US and build out an operational base outside of Australia.

It completed a $25m capital raise in November to fund its expansion efforts in the US.