BCLC taps Mark Goldberg as chief information officer

From 23 January, Goldberg will lead on the crown corporation’s technology strategy in support of the BCLC lottery, casino and sports betting operations.

For more than 20 years Goldberg has operated in a variety of IT roles, most recently as vice-president of information technology and global real estate and facilities at social media management platform Hootsuite.

Before this, he worked to develop digital transformation strategies for a diverse array of companies in the travel, hospitality, consumer product and heavy-equipment sectors.      

In August, the BCLC governing board promoted former chief information officer Pat Davis to become CEO and president, alongside a number of other senior hires. He replaced interim CEO and president Lynda Cavanaugh, who had served in the position since January.

Leveraging information technology

“We are so pleased to welcome Mark to BCLC where his demonstrated success in leveraging information technology to grow and scale business objectives for global companies will strengthen our work to deliver truly exceptional player experiences,” Davis said.

Goldberg will be based in the provincial operator’s Vancouver office, but will travel on a regular basis to the company’s head office in Kamloops – where more than one-third of BCLC employees working in the business technology division are based.   

Davis added: “This is a key role, as technology truly underpins every facet of our business, from the systems that enable the purchase and validation of lottery tickets, to the complex network of slot machines at our casinos and community gaming centres and the infrastructure that supports the province’s only, legal regulated gambling website – PlayNow.com.”

Last June, the BCLC announced that its flagship online gambling platform PlayNow.com would be expanding to Saskatchewan, following a deal with both the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) and SaskGaming.