News UK has appointed Cashcade and Gaming Realms plc founder Simon Collins to the new role of MD, Betting & Gaming.

Simon has a 25-year track record in building valuable gaming brands and businesses in the UK, across bingo, lottery, poker, mobile games and sports betting. He co-founded Cashcade, the successful online bingo business, creating and building FoxyBingo to become a leading UK brand prior to selling for £96m in 2009.

Since then, Simon has co-founded Gaming Realms plc, focused on creating gaming opportunities optimised for smartphone and tablet devices. He was instrumental in the development of Gaming Realms’ real money gaming business, which was sold to River iGaming earlier this year.

In his new role, Simon will oversee the development and growth of News UK’s gaming power brands, including fantasy football league Dream Team, Sun Bingo, and Sun Racing. He will report to Wireless CEO Scott Taunton, who holds executive responsibility for News UK’s Betting and Gaming brands.

Tom Ustunel, The Sun’s Betting & Gaming Director and Gareth Williams, Sports Commercial Partnerships Director, both report in to Simon.

Scott said: “There are few more experienced players in the online gaming space than Simon Collins. He has a history of building audiences and value around brilliant digital gaming brands. And he joins News UK as we embark on the next phase of growth around our iconic gaming brands, including Dream Team, Sun Bingo and Sun Racing.”

Simon said: “I am particularly excited to take up this new role as I believe there are a number of opportunities to develop the existing business. I’m looking forward to working with what I know is a very talented team, across some of the UK’s biggest brands.”

Dream Team is the UK’s largest commercial fantasy football game, engaging over 1.1m unique players across the World Cup and 2018/19 season. Over 80% of Dream Team customers have betting accounts.

Sun Bingo is the home of Britain’s favourite online bingo game, distributing more than £6.7bn to customers since it launched in 2006. Backed by the UK’s biggest newsbrand, the site offers a high-quality and immersive bingo and gaming experience with over one million registered players. Which Bingo Report 2019 named Sun Bingo as the most popular brand.The Sun Racing app launched earlier this year uniting the title’s first-class horse racing content with a feature-rich betting platform. The free to use app is a one-stop-shop, offering the best content in a simple and accessible way.The bets are offered through an affiliate model, with Sun Racing’s five partners: Betway, Coral, Ladbrokes, William Hill and Unibet.