In his new role, Thomas will oversee BlueBet’s marketing strategy and efforts in Australia.
Thomas joins BlueBet after spending the last three years consulting to Australian businesses through Wiseguy Communications, while he also co-founded Fans.Inc in October 2021.
Prior to this, he spent more than nine years as chief marketing and digital officer at Nova, while he also had a spell as head of media and advertising at Coles Group and marketing director for ninmsn.
In addition, he was marketing director at PepsiCo for almost six years, marketing manager for vodka at Diageo and also brand manager at Uncle Tobys.
“It’s such an exciting time for BlueBet, as it experiences strong growth in the market, and I’m looking forward to helping it accelerate its growth agenda, disrupt the market, and continue to take market share,” Thomas said.
“There is a real challenger brand mentality at BlueBet, filled with smart and passionate people, and this is exactly the sort of business I love being part of. As a challenger brand, we need to work faster and smarter and create big, impactful ideas that cut through in a competitive market.
“Australians have lots of choice when it comes to punting so creating an Australian brand that Aussie punters love is important. The BlueBet team has done an outstanding job and have a ton of industry knowledge and I’m excited to be joining such a high performing and passionate team.”
Challenger brand
BlueBet chief executive Bill Richmond added: “Tony has developed and executed some of the most recognisable campaigns in this market over the past 20 years and importantly built teams and cultures that align with BlueBet’s values and disruptor mentality.
“Tony is bringing a strong strategic mind to the company and has some exciting ideas about how we can take our brand and proposition to the next level.
“Tony understands that BlueBet is a challenger brand with a unique proposition and appeal to Australian punters and we think his expertise and vision will make a real impact to our business.”
The appointment comes after BluBet last month made a strategic investment worth $500,000 in free-to-play sports gamification platform provider Low6.
BlueBet said the investment will allow it to expand its own product offering into free-to-play games, as well as assist in onboarding and to engage with its customer base.