Sportsbet has appointed Doug Brown as its new chief executive officer, handing the top job to a longtime company executive as Barni Evans moves into an expanded role with parent company Flutter. Brown will begin as CEO on June 1.
The move was confirmed Tuesday morning and marks a leadership handover at Australia’s largest corporate bookmaker, which holds more than 45 per cent of the online market. Brown has been with Sportsbet for 11 years and has held senior roles across the business, including chief operating officer, chief product officer and chief growth officer.
Evans has led Sportsbet since 2018 and will become CEO, Flutter APAC & Emerging Markets. Sportsbet described the change as part of his move into a broader regional role, while keeping him closely tied to the company that grew rapidly under his tenure. That growth helped turn Sportsbet into the clear leader in online wagering in Australia, a position it still holds within Flutter’s global stable.
Brown said Sportsbet was a dynamic business with smart people and a lot of momentum, and that he was grateful for the chance to lead it into its next phase. He said his focus would be on improving the customer experience, bringing excitement to life and making the most of the opportunities ahead. Evans said it had been a huge privilege to be part of Sportsbet’s story, adding that he was proud of the business and the team behind it.
He also said Brown was the right person to lead the next phase because he knows the business inside out and played a major role in getting it to where it is today. Evans said he looked forward to staying closely connected to Sportsbet while taking on the broader APAC and Emerging Markets job. For Sportsbet, the handover keeps the leadership in-house at a time when the company remains the dominant force in its market, but it also signals that Flutter is pulling one of its best-known executives deeper into the group’s wider international push.
The key question now is how Brown will steer a business already at the top of its market while Evans helps shape Flutter’s next move across two regions that have become central to the group’s ambitions.
