Captain Lucky

What is Captain Lucky?

Allwyn has announced the appointment of former Playtech executive Francesco Rodano as its new group head of responsible gaming. 

Rodano spent almost ten years spearheading policy at Playtech as the supplier’s chief policy officer. Then between January last year and August 2026, he led its global player-protection efforts as chief sustainable gambling officer.

During his tenure, Rodano was instrumental in deploying an AI-powered behavioural analytics platform, BetBuddy, which is designed to identify and intervene in potentially harmful gambling behaviours. 

What is Captain Lucky?

“Our colleagues are our priority. We understand the concerns many will have. Impacted staff have been informed and are being fully supported throughout this process.”

Bet365 noted the impact of the UK government’s near doubling of the remote gaming duty, which increased from 21% to 40% on 1 April this year.

Additionally, a new remote betting duty is set to come in from April 2027, which will raise the effective tax rate on all sports betting products except horse racing from 15% to 25%.

What is Captain Lucky?

Despite the revenue growth, land-based gross profit dipped 0.7% to R2 billion, largely due to the heightened investment in marketing.

“Looking ahead, as land-based gaming evolves into a more digital and experience-led environment, these initiatives, together with the implementation of a low-cost operating model, are expected to improve performance, increase market share, profitability and generate stronger returns over the medium term,” the company said.

Alongside gaming, hospitality revenue rose 2.8% to R1.29 billion despite an impact of around R20 million from war-related cancellations.