London-listed bingo and casino operator Rank Group has promoted Jon Martin to the newly created role of chief operating officer.

Martin has served as managing director for Rank Interactive since 2020, and will transition back to the UK from Gibraltar to begin his new role this summer.

He will continue to have accountability for the strategy and performance of Rank Interactive, as well as taking overall responsibility for the development and delivery of Rank’s cross-channel customer experience and service for the Mecca and Grosvenor brands.

Prior to joining Rank, Martin worked for more than five years at William Hill, most latterly as chief of staff to the CEO.

“I am delighted that Jon will take on a broader role here at Rank, testament to the hard work and delivery of our continued success across the digital gaming market,” said Rank CEO John O’Reilly. “I have no doubt that Jon taking on these broader responsibilities will benefit Rank immensely.”

Commenting on his new role, Martin said: “I am excited about the prospect of delivering the next stage of Rank’s growth, focussing on a more seamless brand experience between our venues and digital offerings, whilst continuing to oversee our upward digital trajectory.

“A key priority will be working more closely with our venues’ management teams, whilst utilising our proprietary technology to deliver a more compelling customer experience for existing and new cross-channel customers.”

Rank has also begun a formal search process to replace Martin as managing director for Rank Interactive, a role which will run the operations of Rank’s UK facing digital business and which will continue to be based in Gibraltar.

Shares in Rank Group plc (LSE:RNK) were trading 3.79 per cent higher at 104.00 pence per share in London earlier Monday.