The first online casinos arrived in 1995 and since then, the industry has gone from strength to strength. This has paved the way for several entrepreneurs to make a name for themselves in the industry. They have been responsible for bringing the modern gambling experience into people’s homes and they have made millions of dollars along the way.
There are numerous important pioneers in the industry. In this article, we are going to take a look at six of the most successful. Some of them have had obstacles to overcome along the way but they have all reached a high level of attainment.
Gustaf Hagman and Robin Ramm-Ericson, LeoVegas
These Scandinavian entrepreneurs founded LeoVegas online casino in 2011. Since then it has grown to be one of the biggest operators in the world. This includes becoming one of the most respected online casinos in the prestigious Indian market according to a research from justgamblers.com. The brand’s good fortune has been helped by embracing the smartphone boom with its mobile offering. In 2017, LeoVegas purchased Royal Panda for 60 million euros. There have been some financial issues to overcome since then, but the founders have learned valuable lessons and have emerged stronger for the challenges.
Isai Scheinberg, Pokerstars
Scheinberg is arguably one of the most famous casino entrepreneurs around, as the founder of the most well-known poker brand on the planet, Pokerstars. The company rose from humble beginnings to being a multi-million-dollar concern. Despite the legal issues which the brand first encountered in 2011, and which led to Scheinberg being convicted in 2020, the founder is still a very wealthy man. He sold his shares in PokerStars to Amaya Gaming in 2014 for $4.9 billion and now mostly concentrates on consulting with IBM, providing his expertise on technical matters.
Anthony Werkman – Betway
South African born Anthony Werkman first joined online gambling giants Betway in 2013 and became Marketing and Operations Director in 2015. In 2017, Werkman became the CEO of the multi-million-dollar empire. As such, the economics and politics graduate is one of the most powerful players in the industry.
Ruth Parasol – PartyGaming
Ruth Parasol was born in San Francisco, California, in 1967. She is a self-made woman who is best known as being the founder of PartyGaming, back in 1997. The brand merged with Bwin Interactive in 2010 to form Bwin. Party Digital Entertainment. Parasol is the largest single stakeholder in the company. She has an estimated worth of £780 million, according to the most recent Sunday Times Rich List.
Noel Hayden – Gamesys
Noel Hayden is another person who has their name on rich lists. His estimated worth is £213 million. Hayden has made a name for himself as a serial investor and entrepreneur in the tech world. He co-founded Gamesys, one of the biggest names in the online casino and gaming industry. He also co-founded the digital identity platform Yoti.
Hayden’s programming background gave him the impetus to bring great games to the world, through the creation of Gamesys. Since then he has been heavily involved with building the brand and taking it to its current position at the top of the market. He stepped down as the CEO of the company in 2015 and now has a role as Executive Chairman.
These six entrepreneurs have all made their names and their fortunes in the competitive and exciting online gambling industry.
