For the last four months, one of the biggest talking points in the betting and gaming industry has been who will become the next chief executive of Entain, the FTSE-100 combine whose businesses include Ladbrokes, Coral, Gala Bingo, Bwin and BetMGM.
The post was vacated when, 11 days before Christmas, the former incumbent Jette Nygaard-Andersen unexpectedly resigned with immediate effect.
Since then, the job has been done on an interim basis by Stella David, former chief executive of William Grant & Sons, the Scotch whisky group behind brands such as The Balvenie and Glenfiddich – but the hunt remains ongoing for a permanent CEO.
One of the favourites for the role has now ruled himself out.
Richard Flint, who is well regarded in the industry after his successful stint as chief executive of Sky Betting and Gaming, set tongues wagging when he recently announced he was stepping down as a non-executive director of Flutter Entertainment, the new owner of SkyBet and parent of Paddy Power and Betfair.
However, Mr Flint has told Sky News he is not seeking another executive position.
He said: “Ignore what other bookmakers might say or the odds they might put out there – I am very much enjoying the package of things I’ve got on at the moment.”
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Mr Flint, who chairs the dog food subscription service Butternut Box and the premium ticket and hospitality platform Seat Unique, was speaking as the latter announced a partnership with Co-op Live – the newly opened Manchester venue and now the UK’s biggest indoor entertainment arena.
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Seat Unique, which has naming rights to the cricket grounds at Durham, Yorkshire and Gloucestershire, has also confirmed it has received investment from The Players Fund, the UK’s first athlete-led venture capital firm, whose backers include Ben Stokes and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill.
Mr Flint said the money would be put towards technology, marketing and recruitment.
He added: “The particularly good thing about The Players Fund is that the money is coming from athletes and obviously, given what we do, the athletes are the stars of the show.
“People are paying us money and the venues money to come and see these people – so for them to have a slice of the action, a slice of the business… the whole circularity of it makes sense and we are very excited to be partnering with them.”
