Pontus Lindwall has been Betsson’s CEO for more than nine years; however, his connection to the company and its roots stretches back decades.
Pontus Lindwall’s story is closely tied to the history of the Swedish gaming industry and a family legacy with deep roots in the sector. His career spans some of the industry’s biggest changes, from traditional land-based gaming and the family-owned Cherry group to the rise of online gaming, the founding of NetEnt and Betsson’s international expansion.
Lindwall and Betsson’s paths are deeply intertwined. To understand Lindwall’s career is to trace the transformation of the business he helped shape.
A family legacy in Swedish gaming
Betsson traces its corporate history back to 1963, when Bill Lindwall, Pontus Lindwall’s father and Rolf Lundström founded AB Restaurang Rouletter (Restaurant Roulettes). The company operated primarily in southern and central Sweden.
In 1972, the Cherry name and cherry symbol were registered. The business began operating under the names Cherry and Cherryföretagen and grew into a major Swedish gaming company, laying the foundation for what would eventually become Betsson.
Lindwall joins the family business and founds NetEnt
Lindwall joined the group in 1991 and would go on to become one of the most important figures in its development. He was first appointed CEO of Cherry on 1 January 1998, taking on a leadership role as the gaming industry entered a period of profound change.
Lindwall’s vision for the future had already taken shape two years before he took the leading role. In 1996, he founded NetEnt as a joint venture between Cherryföretagen and the Kinnevik Group. He recognised the opportunities emerging digital technologies offered for the gaming industry at a time when online gaming was still in its early stages.
Since its founding in 1996, Net Entertainment AB has developed online games. By 2000, the company had three areas of operation: Online Casino, Leisure Games and Mobile Entertainment.
In 2000, Cherry acquired Kinnevik’s remaining stake in Net Entertainment, making NetEnt a wholly owned business within the Cherry group.
From Cherry to Betsson and international expansion
In 2003, Cherry acquired a stake in Betsson.com, completing the acquisition in 2005. The group later split into Betsson, Net Entertainment and Cherryföretagen, with Betsson continuing as an independent company.
Betsson entered a new phase of international growth in 2011 with the acquisition of Betsafe, as well as the launch of StarCasino in Italy. Further expansion followed in 2012 with the operator securing licences in Denmark and Estonia, marking a shift from its Swedish roots towards a broader international presence.
During this period, Lindwall served as a Betsson board member from 2011 to 2018, including as Chair from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2017.
Lindwall takes the helm as Betsson expansion accelarates
By 2017, Lindwall had taken the helm of Betsson as CEO, a position he still holds today. By then, the company had secured multiple international licences, including in the Netherlands, Georgia, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Several of these licences had been acquired through acquisitions.
Under Lindwall’s leadership, Betsson continued to accelerate its international expansion, building on the foundations established during its transformation from Swedish gaming roots into an international gaming business.
Another significant acquisition came in 2020, when Betsson acquired Gaming Innovation Group’s B2C business, Zecure Gaming Limited. The same year, Betsson also acquired the Colombian B2C operator Colbet.
In 2021, the Betsson Board of Directors voted to remove Lindwall from his position as CEO. Following a reshuffle, the newly constituted Board reversed the decision, and Lindwall has continued to lead the operator ever since.
In 2025, Betsson further expanded its focus on Latin America by opening new offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to support its regional growth.
The company also expanded its regulated presence in the region through new gaming licences in Brazil and Paraguay, launching product offerings under local licences in both countries.
Three decades at Betsson: A look back
More than six decades after the creation of the business that would eventually evolve into Betsson, the company has become a global gaming group while retaining a strong connection to the Lindwall family's entrepreneurial legacy.
Ultimately, Lindwall’s story is not simply that of a long-serving CEO. It is the story of an executive involved in several defining stages of the company’s development: from traditional gaming and family ownership, through the emergence of online casinos, to international expansion and increasingly regulated markets. His career and Betsson’s evolution are therefore difficult to separate.
When he’s not making waves in the industry, Pontus is an electronic music enthusiast who loves dropping good beats – he’s even DJ’d at industry events