Sportsbet has announced two new additions to its leadership team, with Christina Ruiz stepping into the newly created Chief Product Officer role and Kathy Schokman into Interim Chief People Officer.
Schokman has been with the operator for almost two decades. First joining in 2007 as a Creative Designer, Schokman has been with Sportsbet ever since, making her way to Interim Chief People Officer.
In the announcement made on social media, the company wrote of Schokman: "Kathy brings deep leadership experience and exceptional knowledge of Sportsbet with over 19 years here and will continue to share her genuine passion for people and culture whilst we search for our next Chief People Officer."
Ruiz began her career at Sportsbet in 2022 as Head of Commercial. Since then, the exec took on a series of roles, initially promoted to General Manager of Commercial Content in 2024, and General Manager of Product in 2025.
Before joining, Ruiz worked in advisory firms as Director of corporate turnaround for an agency based in Melbourne and as a Strategy Manager for the multinational services network EY.
In other, albeit not as positive, news for Sportsbet, South Australia's Liquor and Gambling Commissioner fined the company AU$325,000 (US$227,000) for allowing players to bet on unapproved events, such as UFC, esports and LIV Golf.
Sportsbet took responsibility; however, it also cited uncertainty in the approved-events notice and the difficulty of restricting products differently across Australian jurisdictions.
In 2025, the company was also fined by the Australian Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission for a systemic failure to meet basic consumer protection requirements
