Co-founder Collins steps down from Gaming Realms board

Simon Collins, the co-founder of Gaming Realms, is to step down from his role as a non-executive director on the mobile games developer’s board with immediate effect.

Gaming Realms did not disclose the reasons behind Collins’s departure, but did confirm that his exit will be effective from today (11 October).

Collins helped co-found Gaming Realms in 2012 and played a major role in developing its Bear Group B2C real-money gaming business, which it sold to River iGaming in July as part of a pivot to becoming a B2B supplier. 

Collins exits the Gaming Realms board with a 3.80% stake in the developer, holding a total of 10,806,742 shares.

He was previously a founder of bingo operator Cashcade, which created brands including Foxy Bingo and Cheeky Bingo, before being acquired by PartyGaming in a deal worth up to £95.9m in 2009. Another Cashcade veteran, Patrick Southon, remains chief executive of Gaming Realms.

“I would like to recognise Simon’s significant contributions to Gaming Realms and thank him for his commitment to the group,” Gaming Realms’ non-executive chairman Michael Buckley said of Collins' departure.

“He has provided valuable insight and expertise in his roles as both an executive and non-executive director. We all wish him every success for the future.”

Collins’ departure comes after reported an 18% year-on-year rise in revenue in the first half of 2019, primarily due to growth within its licensing division. Total continuing revenue for the six months to June 30, 2019 amounted to £3.2m (€3.6m/$4.0m), up from £2.7m in the corresponding period last year.

The developer was also able to cut its pre-tax loss in the period, with this down from £3.1m in the first half of 2018 to £2.5m in the same period this year.

Image: Gaming Realms