Board of directors

Mikael Riese Harstad Chairman of the Board

Mikael is a partner of Optimizer Invest Ltd and has been a major shareholder in the company, both through Optimizer Invest and personally, since 2016. Mikael has a long experience in both online gambling and mergers and acquisitions and has been acting as board member and senior advisor for companies like Catena Media, The Game Day, the Betit Group, Skilling and Speqta. Mikael has a Masters of Laws degree from the University of Lund.

Hesam Yazdi Director

Hesam has been a very active shareholder in the company for many years and for the last 12 months, he has actively been responsible for the Company’s investor relations and also been providing investor relations advice to the Board of Directors. Hesam is also running his own investment company, Mocca Investment Group, which invest in both listed and unlisted companies.

Mateusz Juroszek Director

Mateusz has 20 years of involvement in the gambling sector, primarily as the CEO of Poland’s largest bookmaker, STS, from 2012 to 2023. He has also served as an investor in various gambling ventures worldwide. In 2023, the Juroszek family sold of a majority stake in STS Group, integrating it into the Entain Group through the Entain CEE vehicle, a joint venture of the London-listed Entain Group, EMMA Capital, and the Juroszek family. Furthermore, he has founded Betplay Capital, one of the largest investment funds in the iGaming sector, managing approximately EUR 650 million. Mateusz is a graduate of the Faculty of Strategic Management at Kozminski University in Warsaw, Poland,

Cristina Romero de Alba Director

Cristina has a versatile background in finance and law, serving as a partner at LOYRA. She leads one of the most prominent M&A and regulatory practices in the gambling and betting industry, with a particular emphasis on the Americas. Over her 12 years of industry experience, she has provided counsel to institutional and strategic investors, operators and suppliers across more than 30 countries. Additionally, she holds positions as a board member at the ICRG (International Center for Responsible Gaming) in the US and at OMNIGAME in Denmark.

Nicholas Batram Director

Nick recently established his consulting business after serving as Group Director of M&A and Corporate Development at Entain plc, a leading gaming company and a constituent of the FTSE100. During his eight-year tenure at Entain, Batram played a pivotal role in the group’s expansion and geographic diversification, overseeing over 20 transactions totalling approximately $10 billion across various regions. Before joining Entain, he accrued around 30 years of experience in the finance industry, specializing in Leisure & Gaming. His expertise was recognized when he was voted the No.1 Leisure & Gaming analyst in the Extel Survey as voted for by corporates).

Tomasz Juroszek Director

Tomasz is CIO of Betplay Capital, a family-owned investment company focused on investing in gambling and closely-related industries with over 120 million dollars assets under management. Tomasz has over 5 years of experience in the industry, including roles in STS and Betplay Capital. Tomasz is an investment expert with experience gained in Firstminute Capital – seed level venture capital based in London, as well as in Juroszek Holding – managing portfolio of polish equities. Tomasz has a Masters of International Business degree from Base Business School (formerly Cass).