Jesper Svensson runs the daily operations of Betsson Group, one of Europe’s largest online casino and sports betting companies. He’s held the CEO title since December 2017, and Betsson posted 1.19 billion euros in revenue for 2025. Svensson has never run a licensed US casino brand, but Betsson tested the American market in Colorado before pulling out in 2024.
Who Is Jesper Svensson?
Jesper Svensson holds the Chief Executive Officer title for Betsson Group’s operations, and he’s based in Malta. That title is a bit different from what most people assume. Betsson AB, the publicly traded parent company on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange, has its own President and CEO, Pontus Lindwall. Svensson runs the operating business underneath it, the casino and sportsbook brands players actually see, like Betsson.com and Betsafe.
He studied marketing at BI Norwegian Business School, then earned a master’s degree in international business from EAE Business School in Barcelona. Before gaming, he sold insurance policies. He’s spent more than two decades in CRM and marketing roles across the gambling industry since.
Jesper Svensson’s Career at Betsson Group
Svensson didn’t start at the top. He spent seven years in marketing and CRM roles at three other gambling companies before Betsson hired him in 2013.
| Year | Milestone |
| 2000 | Starts career as a sales executive at If P&C Insurance |
| 2006 | Joins Ladbrokes Plc, running sports CRM for Nordic customers |
| 2010 | Becomes Casino Marketing Manager at Bodog Nation in London |
| 2013 | Joins Betsson Malta as Managing Director of Betsson.com |
| 2017 | Named CEO of Betsson Group in December, after a stint as Acting CEO |
| 2025 | Formally added to Betsson AB’s group management team as Operational CEO |
He joined Ladbrokes in 2006, running sports CRM for Nordic customers. From there, he moved to Adsdotcom, the company behind InterCasino and InterPoker, where he worked in player development. In 2010, he became a Casino Marketing Manager at Bodog Nation in London, then took over marketing and CRM for the Philippines two years later.
Betsson hired him in August 2013 as Managing Director of Betsson.com. He became Chief Commercial Officer in 2015, then Acting CEO in September 2017. The board made it permanent that December.
Why Jesper Svensson Pulled Betsson’s Sportsbook Out of Colorado
Jesper Svensson has kept Betsson mostly off US bettors’ radar, and that’s by design. The company signed a market-access deal with Dostal Alley Casino back in 2020 to bring its Betsafe sportsbook to Colorado. After repeated delays, the app finally went live in March 2022, and Betsson opened an office in Denver to support it.
The Colorado launch was never really about winning US customers. Betsson has said the sportsbook mainly existed to show off its technology to potential business partners. By September 2024, the company shut the consumer-facing app down and confirmed it had no plans to return to direct-to-consumer betting in the US.
Betsson still runs a consumer sportsbook in Ontario, Canada, and it keeps selling its sportsbook technology to US operators on a business-to-business basis. Betsson’s leadership has also said the company is watching prediction markets like Kalshi, which operate under federal rules instead of state gambling law, though it sees limited overlap with its core markets in Europe and Latin America.
Jesper Svensson’s Global Growth Push at Betsson
Since taking the CEO role, Jesper Svensson has pushed Betsson deep into Latin America. The company entered Mexico and grew fast enough that the region became Betsson’s second-largest market by revenue in 2024. In March 2026, Betsson agreed to buy Rhino Entertainment’s Canadian consumer betting business, a roughly 64.5 million euro deal that closed in August 2026 and added new licenses, staff, and technology in Ontario.
Betsson has also built its brand through sports sponsorships, including a three-year partnership with Belgian club Club Brugge signed in 2025 and a 2022 sponsorship of the Copa America Femenina tournament. Group revenue reached 1.19 billion euros in 2025, up 8% from the year before, and the company now employs roughly 2,700 people.
Svensson’s leadership has earned recognition too. He won Executive of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards in February 2023, was shortlisted again for 2026, and picked up the Outstanding Contribution to Gaming award at the SiGMA Euro-Med Awards in 2025.
How Betsson Compares to Major US Sportsbooks
Betsson operates on a different model than the sportsbooks most US bettors use every day. This table shows the main differences.
| Feature | Betsson Group | Typical US Sportsbook |
| CEO | Jesper Svensson (operations) | Named CEO of the US brand |
| Public listing | Nasdaq Stockholm | Nasdaq or NYSE |
| US consumer app | None since September 2024 | Live in most regulated states |
| US business model | B2B technology licensing only | Direct-to-consumer betting and casino |
| Core markets | Europe and Latin America | United States |
The Bottom Line
Jesper Svensson leads a European gambling giant that chose to stay out of the US consumer market, at least for now. He built his career the slow way, through marketing and CRM roles, not a single big break. Watch whether Betsson’s B2B relationships with American operators ever turn into another run at US bettors directly.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jesper Svensson
Who is Jesper Svensson?
Jesper Svensson holds the CEO title for Betsson Group’s operations, the day-to-day arm of Swedish gambling company Betsson AB. He’s held the role since December 2017, after joining Betsson Malta in 2013 as Managing Director. He previously worked in marketing and CRM at Ladbrokes, Adsdotcom, and Bodog Nation.
Can US players use Betsson?
No. Betsson shut down its only US consumer sportsbook, a Colorado app under the Betsafe brand, in September 2024. The company still licenses its sportsbook technology to US operators, but it doesn’t offer a direct-to-consumer casino or sportsbook app in any US state.
What happened to Betsson’s Colorado sportsbook?
Betsson signed a market-access deal with Dostal Alley Casino in 2020, then launched its Betsafe app in Colorado in March 2022 after regulatory delays. The company has said the app mainly served to showcase its technology to potential business partners. Betsson closed the consumer app in September 2024 and has no current plans to relaunch in the US.
How much revenue does Betsson Group make?
Betsson Group brought in 1.19 billion euros in revenue in 2025, up 8% from 2024. Latin America and Western Europe drove most of the growth, while the Nordic region slowed down.
What awards has Jesper Svensson won?
Svensson won Executive of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards in February 2023 and was shortlisted again for the 2026 edition. He also received the Outstanding Contribution to Gaming award at the SiGMA Euro-Med Awards in 2025.