FIRST.bet names DraftKings veteran as co-CEO

• Ian Bradley joins as co-CEO after serving as SVP at DraftKings, where he held responsibility for all consumer sportsbook revenue.
• Bradley and founder Tom Light reunite as former SBTech colleagues, sharing ownership of the company as business partners.
• The appointment targets accelerated growth across LATAM, Europe and beyond for the Tier-1 B2B supplier.

FIRST.bet has appointed Ian Bradley as co-CEO alongside founder Tom Light, bringing in a former DraftKings Senior Vice-President as a partner in the business.

The move reunites two former SBTech colleagues under a shared leadership structure as the B2B sportsbook provider pushes into its next growth phase.

Return to B2B

Bradley brings more than two decades of sportsbook and trading experience. His career began in spread betting at Sporting Index and Sporting Solutions, before he joined SBTech in a senior role that would eventually carry him to the front of the US sports betting expansion.

When SBTech’s technology became part of DraftKings through their 2020 merger, Bradley remained with the combined business. As SVP, he carried responsibility for all consumer sportsbook revenue during the years DraftKings established itself as one of America’s leading operators.

FIRST.bet itself was built by former SBTech leaders. That background makes the appointment a reunion as much as a hire, and it signals the kind of talent the company is now capable of attracting.

Bradley does not join as an executive alone. The company has structured his appointment as a business partnership, with Bradley and Light sharing ownership of FIRST.bet’s strategy and direction as co-CEOs.

Tom Light, Founder and co-CEO of FIRST.bet, said:

“Ian is one of the most respected leaders in our industry, and I worked alongside him at SBTech, so I’ve seen first-hand what he builds. I’ve wanted him alongside me at FIRST.bet for some time – that he’s only now free to join tells you how highly DraftKings valued him.

“Asking Ian to run the business with me as co-CEO is the clearest statement of intent we could make: FIRST.bet is building the platform serious operators choose, and together we’ll get there faster.”

Ian Bradley, co-CEO of FIRST.bet, said:

“FIRST.bet has built something rare – a world-class team and genuinely Tier-1 technology, with the trading depth and product to back it. I wanted to work alongside a team like this and help build on the success they’ve already created.

“Running the company alongside Tom as co-CEO is exactly the challenge I wanted next, and the opportunity in B2B right now – across LATAM, Europe and beyond – is enormous.”

Tier-1 credentials

The appointment arrives at a moment of sharp commercial momentum for FIRST.bet. The company currently powers 75+ operators worldwide, with more than 35 live in Brazil alone.

It holds licences from both the Malta Gaming Authority and the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen), and carries GLI-33 certification and ISO audit accreditation.

That product depth extends to the company’s latest release. UltraCup, FIRST.bet’s dedicated World Cup betting engine, was built to keep players engaged from the group stage through to the final. It is designed as a modular framework, giving operators market-level control over how they deploy it across different regions and competitions beyond the tournament itself.

Together, Bradley and Light will carry joint responsibility for product, technology and trading as the company expands.

Eyes on expansion

The markets FIRST.bet is targeting are those where B2B competition is sharpest. Brazil’s regulated sportsbook sector, operating under federal licensing requirements since January 2025, is consolidating fast.

Operators are increasingly choosing technology partners on capability rather than price. Across Europe, commercial pressure is pushing sourcing decisions toward suppliers with demonstrably deep trading infrastructure.

Bradley’s track record running consumer sportsbook revenue at DraftKings gives FIRST.bet a perspective that few B2B providers can claim.

Understanding what a scaled operator demands at the product level, from live market speed to cashout reliability, translates directly into how a supplier designs and pitches its platform. That operator-side lens, now applied to the supplier’s own positioning, could sharpen FIRST.bet’s competitive edge in the regulated markets it is targeting for continued growth.

The company’s recent recognition underlines how far it has already travelled. FIRST.bet was named Sportsbook Supplier of the Year at the SBC Awards 2025 and the EGR LATAM Awards 2025.

In 2026, it collected Best Sportsbook Provider at BiS SiGMA South America and Sports Betting Supplier of the Year at the EGR B2B Awards. Light also received the Individual Achievement Award at the EGR Europe Awards 2026.

With Bradley now in place, the next set of milestones will be measured in market share.