GVC Holdings’ and MGM Resorts International’s joint digital venture, BetMGM, has hired former MGM Resorts chief corporate counsel Andrew Hagopian as its chief legal officer.
Hagopian will oversee the operator’s legal and compliance departments, reporting into chief executive Adam Greenblatt.
In his role as chief corporate counsel for MGM Resorts International, Hagopian was instrumental in negotiations with GVC to establish the BetMGM brand in 2018.
In his former position, he was responsible for leading a team of attorneys and other professionals responsible for legal aspects of gaming and regulatory matters. This covered property operations, joint ventures, corporate transactions, sports and entertainment, development, intellectual property, data privacy, corporate governance, securities, finance and enterprise contracts.
Prior to that, he served as an attorney with international law firm Gibson Dunn, representing a number Fortune 100 businesses. At Gibson Dunn he was a member of the corporate transactions and securities practice group, negotiating complex M&A transactions and advising public companies on governance and securities law matters.
He holds a Juris Doctor (JD) from the Georgetown University Law Center and a Bahcelor of Science in business administration from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.
Commenting on his appointment, he said: “BetMGM resides at the intersection of technology and gaming. This is an exciting opportunity to leverage my industry and transactional experience at a fast-moving company in a complex, regulated environment where a strong continued commitment to excellence in compliance will be essential to our success.”
BetMGM’s chief executive, Adam Greenblatt, added: “Andrew’s deep industry experience, and proven ability to build and lead a world-class legal team, will serve BetMGM well as we continue to grow rapidly in a dynamic industry.”
His appointment marks the latest addition to the operator’s executive team, which hired ESPN veteran Ryan Spoon as its chief operating officer in October.
BetMGM was one of the first operators to offer legal sports wagering in Tennessee this month, as one of only four companies to receive a license in the state alongside DraftKings, FanDuel and Action247.