News UK betting and gaming managing director Simon Collins has announced his intention to step down from the role to pursue other opportunities.

Collins has served as managing director of the betting and gaming arm of the UK newspaper publisher since November 2019 and is stepping down to return to the start up space.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at News UK,” said Collins. “It’s been a pleasure to work with such a talented team to develop some of the most popular gaming products in the UK environment – from Dream Team to Sun Bingo. That said, my roots – and my heart – lay in the start up space, and the lure of the new opportunities there was just too strong.”

Scott Taunton, Wireless CEO, will continue to develop betting and gaming opportunities around sports radio station, talkSPORT, while Jo Bucci, former managing director of The People’s Postcode Lottery and now general manager of The Sun, will oversee the betting and gaming portfolio – including Sun Bingo, Sun Vegas, Sun Racing, Sun Win, Sun Play and Dream Team.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Simon for his hard work and entrepreneurialism over the last year,” said Taunton. “Simon has led the Betting & Gaming team during an important phase, focusing on new product development alongside driving strong revenues in this space.”