Pulse
SPORTS BETTING IGT: JOE ASHER
IGT: Our industry loves marketing, but product always wins out
The last time G3 sat down with Joe Asher was shortly after he left his post as CEO of William Hill US, who signed off our interview contemplating his options: “Truthfully, I don’t know what’s next. It will be nice to have some time off over the summer with the kids in Del Mar and try and pick some winners at the racetrack now that fans are allowed back in. I could go and work for a company, buy a business, sit on a few Boards, do some consulting – I just don’t know.
“I’ll see what the opportunities are and what makes the most sense. I still enjoy talking and thinking about the gambling business – it energises me. I will undoubtedly continue my involvement and try to do something productive.”
Fast forward a few months and Joe was back in the saddle. Appointed as President of Sports Betting at IGT, he now reports to Enrico Drago, IGT’s CEO Digital & Betting, and is responsible for spearheading the expansion of the IGT PlaySports sports betting business in North American markets.
Six months into the role and feet firmly under the table, we begin by addressing the most urgent of questions - did he get to call the races during his brief summer sojourn?
“I did! I called the races with my son at a small county fair in Northeastern Nevada. Not long after the deal with Caesars closed I went to Del Mar with the family and didn't have much to do. It was wonderful! Enrico then reached out to ask if I was interested in doing some consulting for the sports betting side of the business.
“William Hill had previously partnered with IGT to win a sports betting contract in Rhode Island and that's when I first encountered Enrico. At the time, I had a mindset of 'listen to everything, commit to nothing, wait until the kids are back to school'. Well, I must have mentioned the date they went back to school because Enrico called that day and what started as a consultancy-type thing morphed into a job.
Joe Asher President of Sports Betting, IGT
“IGT is a B2B business I found attractive - I didn't have any desire to jump back into the B2C world and, regardless, my non-compete with Caesars would have made for a very different conversation. However, when I talked to Tom (Tomas Reeg, CEO of Caesars) he was very gracious.
A student of the history of gaming, IGT’s illustrated history going back to being founded as A-1 Supply by William "Si" Redd in 1975 factored into Joe’s decision to join the company.
“If you live in Nevada for any period of time, IGT is one of the premier companies in the industry going back to the days of “Si” Redd when he founded the company. Coupled with the fact I liked Enrico and my experience working with them at William Hill (who partnered to win a sports betting contract in Rhode Island) led to me taking the position.”
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P71
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