Friday January 23,2015 : ONTARIO ONLINE GAMING CHIEF QUITS FOR AMAYA GAMING
George Sweny departs barely a month after the launch of the Canadian province's online gambling site.
George Sweny, formerly the head of interactive business and charitable gaming affairs at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has been appointed by Montreal-based online gambling group Amaya Gaming as Vice President of Strategic Ventures.
Sweny joined the Ontario Lottery Corporation in 1975 and held several top management posts. During a stellar career he was also President of the Interprovincial Lotteries Corporation (ILC) from July 2005 to July 2006 and served as a member of the ILC Executive Team, which governs national lottery games across Canada.
After working as chief strategy officer for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, Sweny joined the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation in 2012.
The audit, compliance and strategy expert has also worked for Len Stuart & Associates in January 2000 as the Executive Vice President, and for the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) in 2003 as a member of the executive team. He led the Bingo Gaming Business Unit for the Corporation and spearheaded the development of Community Gaming Centres across the province, transforming the traditional bingo business into modern gaming and entertainment facilities.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Responsible Gambling Council of Canada and has served on the Board of Directors of the North American State Provincial Lotteries Association (NASPL).
Amaya also announced the appointment of former Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Chris D. Lewis, as an advisor to its board of directors.
Lewis joins Ben Soave as an advisor to Amaya's board of directors. Soave, appointed in 2012, is a retired Chief Superintendent of the RCMP and internationally recognized innovator in the field of law enforcement, decorated by Canadian and foreign governments for his achievements combating organized crime and terrorism. He is also a member of Amaya's compliance committee.
Lewis became Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) on August 1, 2010, assuming leadership of one of North America's largest deployed police services. During almost 36 years as a police officer and senior leader, he amassed a wealth of operational policing experience, particularly in front-line service delivery, various investigative disciplines and tactical operations.
Although he retired from the OPP on March 31st, 2014, he continues to lecture on leadership and policing issues, including First Nations policing challenges, across North America.
"We're extremely honoured to benefit from the experience and expertise of Mr. Lewis and Mr. Sweny," said David Baazov, the chairman and CEO of Amaya.
"As a company operating in a heavily regulated industry, Mr. Lewis's experience will ensure we continue to lead the way in security processes and procedures as well as integrity, which are of crucial importance to our customers, as well as governments and industry partners.
"Additionally, Mr. Sweny has extensive gaming industry experience in both the public and private sector and will ensure we maintain the highest standards in responsible gaming."