Aristocrat, IAGR, Betty and Aardvark Technologies Confirm Senior iGaming Leadership Moves This Week

Five senior appointments across four organisations have landed in the gaming industry this week, and read together they show where the sector is placing its people and setting its direction.

They range from a CEO succession at a listed gaming supplier to a new President and Vice President at the industry’s regulators’ association, a capital markets hire at a casino brand and a growth and VIP appointment at Aardvark Technologies.

Aristocrat Leisure has set its CEO succession in motion, the International Association of Gaming Regulators has begun a new term under President Brian Krolicki and Vice President David Phillips, and Betty and Aardvark Technologies have confirmed senior commercial hires. The common thread is that leadership, regulation, capital and VIP are all seeing fresh faces at the top at the same time.

Aristocrat Names Dafne Guisard CEO-Elect as Trevor Croker Plans Retirement

Aristocrat Leisure has confirmed that Chief Executive and Managing Director Trevor Croker intends to retire in April 2027, and that the Board has appointed Dafne Guisard as CEO-elect, subject to any necessary regulatory pre-approvals. Croker will remain with the company and support the transition for twelve months.

Guisard joined Aristocrat’s executive team earlier in 2026 as Chief Commercial Officer for EMEA and has since taken on responsibility for the Product Madness social casino business, which Aristocrat says generated FY25 revenues of more than US$1 billion. She will relocate to Las Vegas from Aristocrat’s London office to take up the CEO role.

Before Aristocrat, she was Chief Operating Officer at gaming company Entain, where she ran operations across more than 30 regulated markets and led over 2,500 people. She also served as Chief Strategy, Digital and Transformation Officer at Kraft Heinz, spent nine years in executive commercial and finance roles at Anheuser-Busch InBev, and holds an MBA from MIT Sloan.

Chairman Neil Chatfield said “the Board considers Dafne the ideal choice to succeed Trevor”, pointing to her record of growth and transformation across complex consumer industries and the benefits of an internal appointment for continuity.

Croker said it had been a privilege to lead Aristocrat through a decade of change and congratulated Guisard on her appointment, while Guisard said she was deeply honoured to be chosen and looked forward to working with Croker and the Board on a smooth transition.

Trevor Croker’s Decade at the Helm of Aristocrat

The Board credited Croker with growing Aristocrat’s market capitalisation fourfold to almost $40 billion during his tenure as CEO, alongside an EPSA CAGR of 15%. By the time he steps down, he will have spent more than a decade as CEO and 18 years in senior leadership at the company.

During his tenure he was also elected Chair of the American Gaming Association. The Board pointed to his focus on people, product and customers, and to the company’s work on empowering safer play.

Brian Krolicki Assumes IAGR Presidency With David Phillips Elected Vice President

The International Association of Gaming Regulators has announced that Brian Krolicki, a member of the Nevada Gaming Commission, has assumed the role of President, with David Phillips, Chief Operating Officer of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, elected as Vice President.

Krolicki, who previously served as IAGR’s Vice President, succeeds Ben Haden of the Gambling Commission in Great Britain, who concludes a three-year tenure as President and will continue as a member of the Board of Trustees. Krolicki thanked Haden for his leadership, saying he had helped IAGR broaden its ambitions, strengthen its international relationships and deliver more value to regulators worldwide.

Krolicki brings experience in public service, finance and regulatory oversight, having served two terms each as Nevada’s Lieutenant Governor and State Treasurer before joining the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Phillips brings experience across licensing, compliance, enforcement and technology oversight, played a central role in developing Ontario’s competitive online gambling market, and co-chairs IAGR’s Illegal Gambling Working Group.

Krolicki said “I am thrilled to welcome Dave to the leadership team as Vice President”, adding that Phillips’ grasp of regulatory operations and his experience tackling the illegal gambling market would be valuable as IAGR advances its priorities.

IAGR’s 2027 Priorities Focus on Illegal Gambling, Licensing and Regulatory Technology

In a separate leadership update to members, Krolicki said tackling illegal gambling will remain central to IAGR’s agenda. The association plans to assess the results of its first Illegal Gambling Awareness Week, which promoted the CheckBeforeYouPlay.org licensing resource, and to grow participation in 2027.

Its Model Rules Committee is developing a Model Licensing Form to make licensing more consistent and efficient, while its Technology Working Group will examine how artificial intelligence, data and regulatory technology can improve supervision.

IAGR’s recent annual conference in Lima drew over 150 regulators and more than 100 experts and stakeholders, and planning is under way for a joint workshop with IMGL at ICE Barcelona in January.

Betty Hires Joel Wilson as Vice President of Capital Markets

Betty has appointed Joel Wilson as Vice President of Capital Markets as the casino brand scales its platform into new markets. Wilson joins from Stori, which Betty describes as one of Mexico’s leading consumer fintechs, where he spent six years building its capital markets and treasury functions from scratch.

Over that period he was based in Washington DC, Mexico City and later New York City, hiring and leading teams that oversaw operations and risk for a balance sheet of more than 500 million dollars. Betty says he raised and deployed over half a billion dollars in debt and equity, working with a range of institutional funders that included leading global investment banks.

He began his career at Accion’s Venture Lab, investing in early-stage fintech companies, and is a McGill alumnus. Betty says his record of funding a regulated business growing quickly across several countries equips him to lead its financing and capital strategy.

Aardvark Technologies Welcomes Gali Hartuv as Director of Growth and VIP Relations

Aardvark Technologies has appointed Gali Hartuv as Director of Growth and VIP Relations. Hartuv brings more than 14 years of experience in the VIP and player development space.

The company says the role will focus on building strategy, meaningful relationships and new growth opportunities, and framed the hire around fresh ideas and industry knowledge as it looks to its next phase of growth.

What These iGaming Leadership Moves Signal for the Industry

Taken together, the five appointments show the gaming industry reinforcing its senior leadership across very different functions in a short window.

A listed supplier is preparing a planned handover at the top, the sector’s international regulators’ association has started a new term with a clear agenda on illegal gambling and licensing, and two commercial businesses are building out their capital and VIP teams.

For operators and regulators watching where direction is set, the signal is that leadership succession, regulatory priorities, capital strategy and player development are all being shaped at once, which makes the year ahead one to watch on several fronts.

Source: Official Announcements