Jake Pollard has spent more than fifteen years working inside the online gambling industry, not observing it from a distance. He has held senior editorial and communications roles at some of the sector’s most recognised organisations, written and edited hundreds of thousands of words for B2B trade publications, and contributed directly to how major operators and suppliers have communicated with regulators, investors, and the wider industry. His work is grounded in direct professional experience rather than surface-level aggregation, and his published output reflects a consistent and verifiable track record across regulated markets in Europe, North America, and beyond.
Professional Background
Jake began his career in iGaming journalism at a time when online betting regulation in Europe was fragmented, fast-moving, and poorly understood by mainstream media. That context shaped his editorial approach: precise, evidence-led, and attentive to regulatory nuance.
Between 2010 and 2013, he served as editor of iGaming France, one of the first dedicated English-language resources covering the French regulated gambling market following its liberalisation in 2010. This was a formative period. The French market opened under tight constraints, and covering it accurately required a genuine understanding of licensing frameworks, operator obligations, and the gap between political intent and commercial reality. Jake’s fluency in French gave him direct access to local industry figures, regulators, and legal commentary that most English-language journalists could not reach.
From 2013, he moved to iGaming Business as Head of Content, a role he held for four years. During that time, he grew the publication’s website traffic by more than 60 per cent, expanded its editorial scope, and established it as a credible B2B platform for senior industry professionals. The work involved commissioning, editing, and producing long-form analysis, market reports, and executive interviews, with a readership that included compliance officers, C-suite executives, and institutional investors.
In 2017, Jake crossed from editorial into industry communications when he was appointed Communications and Content Director at SBTech, a market-leading sports betting technology and platform provider. In that role, he was responsible for the company’s press and public relations output, its relationships with trade media, and the development of a content strategy aimed at both industry stakeholders and regulatory audiences. That experience gave him a first-hand understanding of how igaming companies manage their public positioning, how they communicate with licensing authorities, and where the gap often exists between internal operations and external messaging.
He subsequently returned to freelance editorial work, contributing to and editing for a range of outlets including iGamingBusiness, SBC News, CDC Gaming Reports, Gaming and Co, and Wagers.com Earnings+More, a specialist newsletter focused on financial results and market data for listed gambling companies.
Areas of Specialisation
Jake’s editorial focus sits at the intersection of regulation, market structure, and commercial strategy. He does not write general-interest gambling content. His output is directed at industry professionals who need accurate, contextualised information to make operational and strategic decisions.
His principal areas of expertise include:
Regulated markets in Europe. Jake has followed the evolution of online gambling regulation across the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, and Spain over more than a decade. He has tracked legislative changes, licensing regime updates, and the practical consequences for operators and suppliers working across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.
The United States igaming and sports betting market. Since the repeal of PASPA in 2018, Jake has covered the state-by-state legalisation of sports betting and the slower but significant expansion of iCasino across the US. His work in this area draws on data from market analysts, earnings disclosures from publicly listed operators, and direct engagement with US-facing industry professionals.
Emerging markets in South America. He has followed the regulatory development of Brazil, Colombia, and other Latin American jurisdictions as they move towards formal igaming frameworks, with an eye on both the commercial opportunity and the compliance challenges for international operators entering these markets.
B2B technology and platform infrastructure. His time at SBTech gave Jake direct exposure to the technical and commercial workings of igaming platform providers, sportsbook operators, and aggregation businesses. He produced a 44-page market intelligence report on aggregation for iGamingBusiness, involving nine in-depth interviews with senior industry figures and more than 17,000 words of original analysis.
Financial reporting and investor relations. Through Wagers.com Earnings+More, Jake edits and contributes to coverage of quarterly and annual results from publicly listed gambling companies, including DraftKings, Flutter Entertainment, Caesars, Entain, and others. This work requires an understanding of how gambling revenues are structured, reported, and interpreted by equity analysts.
Languages and Reach
Jake is a fluent French speaker and writer. He has produced editorial content in both English and French throughout his career, covering the French market for English-language readers and contributing to French-language industry platforms. This bilingual capability has been particularly relevant in covering the French regulated gambling market, cross-border regulatory discussions within the EU, and the growing influence of French-speaking markets in Africa and beyond.
Editorial Independence and Principles
Jake does not accept payment for editorial coverage. His journalism is not influenced by advertising relationships, sponsorship arrangements, or commercial partnerships between publications and the companies he covers.
When producing sponsored or commissioned content, including reports, white papers, or branded thought leadership, this is clearly labelled and distinguished from independent editorial work. The analytical framework applied to commissioned work is the same as that applied to independent journalism: the starting point is always what the data and the evidence support, not what a client or publisher would prefer to hear.
He does not hold equity positions in any publicly listed gambling company. He does not take advisory roles with operators, suppliers, or trade bodies that would create a conflict of interest with his editorial work.
Where sources provide information on a background basis, this is handled in line with standard journalistic practice. No source is granted approval over published content before it appears.
Responsible Coverage of the Gambling Industry
The gambling industry presents specific editorial responsibilities that generic business journalism does not. Jake approaches coverage of gambling with an awareness that the products being discussed carry genuine risks for a minority of consumers, and that regulatory developments exist partly in response to documented social harms.
His coverage of responsible gambling policy, regulatory tightening, and operator compliance obligations is not filtered through an industry lobbying lens. When regulators impose restrictions that operators oppose, Jake covers both the regulatory rationale and the commercial response with equal rigour. He does not treat industry growth metrics as inherently positive, nor regulatory intervention as inherently negative. The context matters, and context requires understanding both sides of the argument with specificity.
Selected Publications and Contributions
Jake’s bylined work and editorial contributions have appeared in or been produced for:
- iGamingBusiness (IGB)
- SBC News
- CDC Gaming Reports
- Gaming and Co (French and English editions)
- Wagers.com Earnings+More
- Wedge News (formerly WagerWorks Editorial)
- Provider 88
- European Gaming Industry News
He has also produced B2B content, market reports, and communications strategy documentation for technology suppliers and platform providers operating in regulated markets across Europe and North America.
Contact the Author
Jake Pollard is available for freelance editorial commissions, content strategy consultancy, and media commentary within the igaming and online gambling sector.
He takes on a selective number of client engagements to ensure the quality and independence of his output. Enquiries related to sponsored content, white papers, and branded analysis are considered separately from editorial commissions, and the distinction between the two is always maintained in published work.
For editorial enquiries: Connect via LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jake-pollard-5374233
For commissioned content and consultancy: Initial enquiries can be directed through LinkedIn or via publications he currently contributes to.
Jake is based in the United Kingdom and works across European and North American time zones.