Mark Blandford (born 1957 in Hereford) is the founder of Sportingbet plc, at one time the world's largest bookmaking operation and a pioneer in online gambling.[1] Blandford is also the former chairman and CEO.
Sportingbet
editBlandford was one of the earliest offline bookmakers to see the potential for sports betting online. Previously the owner of a traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ bookmaking operation for over 15 years, Mark recognized the potential of the internet in the mid-1990s and sold his chain to Tote Bookmakers in 1997. In October 1998 he launched Sportingbet and in January 2001 the Company floated on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market in a landmark transaction for the online gaming industry.[2] With Sportingbet, Blandford went on to be voted AIM Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002[3] and later earned the company the honour of AIM Transaction of the Year in 2005.[4] Blandford left day-to-day operations at Sportingbet in 2006 and now works as a venture capital investor.[5]
Investing career
editAfter Sportingbet, Blandford managed a venture capital fund focusing on the leisure sector. The fund, called Valhalla Investments, made a handful of investments in the online gambling industry. Industry analysts pay close attention to Blandford's investments and he is a featured speaker at many gaming industry events.[6] Publicly disclosed investments include FSB Tech[7] and the 2014 EGR Gaming Affiliate of the Year Gambling.com Group (formerly KAX Media[8]).[9][10] Blandford is the chairman of Gambling.com Group Ltd.[11] The company filed form F-1 to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on 25 June 2021.[12] In January 2022 the company completed the acquisition of RotoWire [13] and in February 2022 the company acquired online portal BonusFinder.com.[14][15]
At present, Blandford is a partner at Burlywood Capital.[16] Blandford has also invested in educational tech company, University Compare, founded by UK entrepreneur Owen O'Neill, which aims to provide university information and solutions to key stage four students.[17]
In 2023 Blandford also became an advisor for B90 Holdings PLC which owns and operates Bet90.com, Spinbookie.com and the Norwegian sports community Oddsen.nu
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The Story of Mark Blandford". GamblingSites.org.
- ^ "2005-2006 Sportingbet Plc Annual Report". Sportingbet plc. Archived from the original on 2007-12-31. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
- ^ "2002 AIM Awards Winners". Archived from the original on 2007-12-25. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
- ^ "2005 AIM Awards Winners". Archived from the original on 2007-12-25. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
- ^ "Former Tesco CEO leads £3m Synalogik investment round". igamingbusiness.com. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "2008 Gaming Investors Event Speakers". Archived from the original on 2013-11-29. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ^ "FSB Technology completes £2.6m funding round for B2B betting focus". iGamingBusiness. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
- ^ "KAX Media unveils new Gambling.com Group brand". iGamingBusiness. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
- ^ "Corporate Governance - Gambling.com Group". Gambling.com Group. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
- ^ "EGR Awards 2014 – Winners Review – William Hill wins operator of the year". SBCNews. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
- ^ "Gambling.com Group Ltd". Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ^ "Form F-1 REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933)". Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ^ "Gambling.com Group Completes Acquisition of RotoWire". Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ^ "Gambling.com Group expands footprint with €60m BonusFinder acquisition". Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ^ "BonusFinder about us". Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ "Mark Blandford - Burlywood Capital". Burlywood Capital. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
- ^ "University Compare scoops £75,000 from Sportingbet founder". startups.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021.