PointsBet USA looks within for new chief operating officer
Former SVP of operations and ex-Sportradar VP Jake Williams to oversee US sportsbook and online casino operators’ operations
PointsBet USA has promoted Jake Williams to be its new chief operating officer (COO).
Williams had previously served as SVP of strategy and operations for the Australia-headquartered operators US subsidiary, joining the firm in June 2021 from Sportradar.
A qualified lawyer, Williams spent five-and-a-half years with the sports data supplier, working within its legal affairs department where he was promoted to VP of legal and regulatory affairs in August 2018.
In his new role as COO, Williams will focus on developing PointsBet’s compliance, regulatory operations, AML, payments and frauds teams.
He will oversee state launches, market access agreements, data and streaming deals as well as PointsBet’s relationships with US-based leagues and sports teams.
Williams will report to PointsBet US CEO Johnny Aitken, who welcomed the promotion of his colleague to the chief operating officer role.
“Jake has such a deep understanding of the intricacies of the sports betting ecosystem,” Aitken said.
“Since joining the PointsBet team last year from Sportradar, he’s had such an immense impact across all departments from compliance to AML and customer service.
“He has also played a pivotal role in our entrance into key markets such as New York and Pennsylvania,” Aitken added.
The PointsBet US CEO continued: “As PointsBet continues to expand its North American footprint, I’m thrilled to have Jake step into the role of COO and work alongside him to fully unlock the opportunities at hand to scale our operations in the US and further position the company as the home of in-play betting.”
In a statement on networking site LinkedIn, Williams waxed lyrical about his new role within the PointsBet team.
“To the entire US Exec team, led by Johnny Aitken, it has been a pleasure to work together so far and I cannot thank Steven McAleer, Andrew Moreno (Director of compliance), Matthew Oyster [VP of compliance] and many others enough for the support in my PointsBet journey,” Williams wrote.