Peter Ekmark has been named as Chief Executive Officer of PlayStar, where he will replace the outgoing Per Hellberg as the online casino operator looks to advance its US expansion strategy.
The group noted that this represents a logical transition, with Ekmark “already familiar with the business” having served as a board member since September 2022.
In the role, he will be charged with utilising what is billed as “a wealth of igaming experience”, as PlayStar aims to step up its “ambitious plans stateside”.
In addition to a seven year stay at Kindred Group, Ekmark has also served as CCO at Vera&John Casino and JackpotJoy, Director of Business Development at Mr Green and William Hill, CEO of Internet Vikings and most recently Group CEO at the investment company Harvest Tech.
“I’m incredibly excited to be taking over the role of PlayStar CEO and would like to take the opportunity to extend my thanks to Per Hellberg for the amazing foundations he has put down for the company in New Jersey and the US in general,” he commented.
“Having already overseen incredible growth in our first year of operation, I’m confident we as a team can use the extensive igaming and business management experience I’ve accumulated to help PlayStar cement its position in New Jersey and also expand into other regulated states.”
Outgoing CEO Hellberg, who stepped into the role in March 2021, is hailed as exiting following a “game-changing two-and-a-half-year tenure”. This, PlayStar said, included launching into New Jersey and hitting all major revenue milestones.
In July of this year, Glitnor Group stressed that it is looking to make significant progress on lofty North American ambitions after detailing the acquisition of a 37.5 per cent stake in PlayStar.
Undertaken via the firm’s venture capital vehicle, named Glitnor Ventures, which was established in November 2022, the company noted that it is aiming to enable the brand to soar to “even greater heights” across the US’ igaming ecosystem and beyond.
