Allwyn has appointed Francesco Rodano to lead its responsible gaming strategy, adding a former Playtech policy and player protection executive as the lottery group continues to expand its focus on player safety.
Rodano brings 20 years of experience in the gambling sector. He spent almost a decade as Playtech’s chief policy officer, where he led policy work for the supplier. From January last year until August 2026, he served as Playtech’s chief sustainable gambling officer, overseeing its global player protection activities.
Experience across regulation and player protection
At Playtech, Rodano was closely involved in the rollout of BetBuddy, an artificial intelligence powered behavioural analytics platform designed to identify and intervene in potentially harmful gambling behaviour.
Before joining the private sector, Rodano spent almost 10 years as Director of Remote Gaming at Italy’s regulator, Agenzia Dogane e Monopoli (ADM). In that role, he helped establish Italy’s national online gaming framework and worked with regulatory bodies internationally.
He also served as a member of an EU formed group of gaming experts during his time at ADM.
Speaking about his appointment in an interview published on Allwyn’s LinkedIn page, Rodano said he had worked on player protection “from every angle”.
Allwyn links appointment to growth strategy
Allwyn said the appointment underlined its intention to make responsible gaming an integral part of its growth strategy. The group’s existing businesses have achieved Level 4 accreditation under the World Lottery Association’s (WLA) responsible gaming framework, the highest available level.
Robert Chvátal, Allwyn’s chief executive officer, said Rodano’s appointment was consistent with the group’s long term goal of embedding integrity and player safety across its products and markets.
“Player protection is something I live and breathe and I look forward to implementing that passion at scale across Allwyn,” Rodano said.
He added that Allwyn’s presence across several markets gave the group a unique opportunity to learn from its operations in each jurisdiction.
The appointment comes after several other leadership changes at Allwyn. Phil Walker has moved to lead the UK business, while Katie Harbron was appointed director of games in the UK. Khalid Reede Jones has also taken on the role of North America CEO.
