Veikkaus appoints former PayPal VP Lassi to top legal role
Veikkaus has announced the appointment of former PayPal vice president Jyri Lassi as its new general counsel and management team member.
Lassi will officially begin his new position at Veikkaus on 1 September. He will replace Hanna Kyrki, who will depart the business in July to join Summa Defence.
An experienced legal executive, Lassi will join Veikkaus from electric car charging service company Virta Global. He worked as its chief legal officer for over three years.
Earlier in his career, Lassi had a two-year spell as general counsel at virtual reality technology company Varjo. He was also a board member at software business Doerz.
From 2016 to 2020, Lassi worked at PayPal, first serving as vice president and legal chief IP officer and later vice president of legal. In addition, he spent over eight years in various legal roles with Nokia.
Lassi talks up new opportunities at Veikkaus
Commenting on his new role, Lassi acknowledged the major changes facing Veikkaus in the near future. The operator will soon relinquish its role as the iGaming monopoly in Finland, with the country set to open up a wider, regulated market.
“Veikkaus is in an interesting situation, as its monopoly position is being dismantled,” Lassi said. “The competitive situation offers the company great opportunities to grow and develop into an even more significant player, even internationally.
“It is a privilege to soon be part of that journey and to be able to influence Veikkaus’ new direction together with other employees of the company.”
Veikkaus CEO Olli Sarekoski backs Lassi to succeed in his new role. He said Lassi’s experience in legal roles will support Veikkaus amid the evolving gambling industry.
“Jyri has very diverse work experience in responsible and challenging legal positions in internationally operating companies,” Sarekoski said. “I am convinced that with his expertise we will move forward in a determined and controlled manner in the changing operating environment of the gambling industry.”
The appointment comes with Veikkaus set to relaunch its new-look sportsbook. Veikkaus has moved from the DraftKings platform to begin working with OpenBet technology.