Veikkaus has appointed Chris Armes as its new Executive Vice President, Gaming Technologies and a member of Veikkaus’ Executive Team. Armes will lead Veikkaus’ technology team from the company’s headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. He will start in his new role during fall 2026.

We are very pleased to welcome Chris to Veikkaus’ Executive Team. His broad experience in transforming iGaming technology platforms and leading in highly regulated international markets will be extremely valuable as we continue to develop first-class customer experiences and technological innovation. Chris’ strong commitment to responsible gaming and security is well aligned with our values, and he brings extensive international gaming experience to our team, says Olli Sarekoski, President and CEO of Veikkaus.

Armes joins Veikkaus from High5Games, an international gaming technology company, where he was responsible for the company’s technology and operational delivery across B2B and B2C markets. Earlier in his career, he held senior technology leadership roles at Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) and Scientific Games Digital, where he led the integration following the acquisition of NYX Gaming Group.

I am excited to join Veikkaus, an ambitious and forward-looking company that is entering an important new phase as the Finnish market opens and the company continues to internationalize. I look forward to working with the talented team in Helsinki to support the next phase of technology-led growth and to deliver competitive, scalable and safe digital platforms for our players, says Chris Armes.

During his career, Armes has led organizations through complex transformation and helped develop single-market operators into competitive, multi-market technology businesses. His areas of expertise include scalable digital platforms, cloud transformation, cybersecurity and AI-driven player protection.

Armes holds a BSc (Hons) in Computing Science from Staffordshire University and is a Chartered Engineer (CEng).

Ari Aarnihuhta continues working at Veikkaus as an Executive Advisor. Ari Aarnihuhta has had a long and distinguished career at Veikkaus and has held several demanding management positions. I would like to warmly thank him for his significant work for the company, says Olli Sarekoski.