Rank appoints former William Hill online boss as CEO (updated)

Guoco

27/03/2014 14:35

March 27 (Reuters) - British bingo and casino operator Rank RNK.L  has appointed online gambling specialist Henry Birch as its new chief executive, the company said on Thursday. Birch, 45, succeeds Ian Burke who moves into the role of non-executive chairman in changes that take effect from May 6. Birch was the chief executive of William Hill Online WMH.L , a joint venture between the British bookmaker and gambling software company Playtech  PTEC.L , for four years until October 2012. Rank, majority-owned by Malaysia's Guoco Group  0053.HK , reported a 23 percent fall in first half profit in January because of falling customer numbers at its bingo halls.  ID:nL5N0L50K0   Burke, 57, had been in the chief executive's role at Rank for eight years and said it had been his decision to move on. "With his track record in the online betting and gaming sector, the Rank board believes that Henry is well-equipped to lead Rank's continued exploitation of growth opportunities in the gaming and leisure markets," the company said. Rank said last week that it planned to open three new bingo halls in Britain after the government cut tax on the game. (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bangalore, editing by William Hardy) ((esha.vaish@thomsonreuters.com)(within UK +44 20 7542 1810, outside UK +91 80 6749 1136)(Reuters Messaging: esha.vaish.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: RANKGROUP/