The Trading Game

For Declan Raines, sports was king growing up in London. Tennis, rugby and football. At Hult International Business School, he discovered a passion for analytics and statistics. The combination paved the way for his entrée into the world of sports and analytics as a career following graduation in 2012.

“Internships at companies within financial trading and sports sponsorship provided me the experience to start out my gaming career as a graduate scheme within algorithmic sports trading at one of the largest funds dedicated to sports trading,” Raines recalls.

In his first full-time post-graduation job, at SportsRISQ starting in 2013, Raines was responsible for trade execution within the sports betting strategies deployed to drive returns for participating investors.

After almost five years, Raines joined Quantum Trade, where he took on greater responsibilities within trading execution and operations. “Within this role I was also able to acquire unique experiences within the development of match integrity solutions and sportsbook product development,” he says.

Raines transferred from the U.K. to the U.S. in 2019, landing a position at TransUnion, first in Boca Raton, Florida, then in Charleston, South Carolina.

Coming to America resulted in a major shift in culture both at the corporate and personal level, he says. “Before TransUnion, the largest company I worked for had around 50 employees compared to TransUnion’s thousands of associates throughout the world. However, I really enjoyed and value the experience in adapting to these changes in the last seven years I’ve been in the U.S.”

From a gaming standpoint, this involved a balance between what he knows and what he learned from the U.K. market. “In some ways, the U.K. is a looking glass into the future for the U.S., but in other ways there are truly unique nuances to the U.S. gaming market that I must incorporate within my role, whether it’s regulatory, the applicable companies in the sector or the unique elements of the consumer,” says Raines, who loves to cook to relax, “impersonating” better chefs.

In his five years with TransUnion, Raines has reported to a single person: his manager Marko Ivanov, senior vice president for diversified markets. “Marko has had a profound and, likely, lasting impact on not only my career development but also my personal development,” he says.

The opportunity to learn from Ivanov and his extensive experience managing complex businesses in numerous industries helped Raines navigate similar complexities in day-to-day life at TransUnion. “He has been a wonderful and patient teacher to me, developing my strategy and market development skill sets as well as helping me to learn through osmosis the value of diplomacy, collaboration and leadership.”

As for the future, Raines doesn’t look too far ahead—that’s how much the industry changes.

“My goals include continuing to drive value for the partner operators TransUnion supports in gaming and continuing to advocate for moving responsible gaming forward in the U.S. market,” says Raines, who enjoys golf and exploring Charleston with his wife.

“Responsible gaming is, I believe, the topic that will dominate the sector for the next five years as operators and regulators explore ways to implement policies, procedures and technologies that promote a sustainable industry.”