Who Owns Hollywoodbets – Founder and Owner Info

Author Samuel Karugu

Approved by Atanas Tanev

Updated:

7 Oct 2024

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Founded and owned by Owen and Lesley Heffer, Hollywoodbets is a leading brand in South Africa, having been one of the major betting players in the country for many years. Inspired by their success in the Rainbow Nation, you can now find them further afield. Not only do they have a presence in neighbouring Mozambique but in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland too. Given their expanding audience, we thought it was worth taking a look at who owns Hollywoodbets and other key individuals behind the popular brand.

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Who is the Owner of Hollywoodbets

Owen Heffer and his wife Lesley are the owners of Hollywoodbets. As well as being the current owner, Owen is also the answer to the question of who is the founder of Hollywoodbets. The story began in the 1980s when he, along with Lesley and their young child, arrived in Durban, having made the one-way trip from Zimbabwe. At the time, the Heffers had very little to their name other than a couple of bits of furniture and a mere 4 South African Rand.

Owen began saving up and soon put what little money he had to good use though, using it to print 100 tipping sheets, called Winning Form, and selling them outside Greyville Racecourse. The popularity of these tip sheets enabled him to set up the company called Winning Form. This initially small business began publishing and distributing racecards for South African horse racing, and still does today. Owen was able to run this smoothly as he had previously taken up a computer programming course upon his arrival in South Africa.

Inspired by this success, Owen turned his head towards bookmaking along with business partner Suren Rampersadh. The two of them set up their first bookmaker shop in 1998 down Argyle Road near Greyville. Proving to be a hit, the pair set up more and more shops and the rest they say, is history. It is a genuine rags-to-riches story as the Heffers started off with virtually nothing, in a country that was brand new to them.

Other Key People

• Suren Rampersadh: CEO of Hollywoodbets
• Adheesh Maharaj: Financial and Commercial Executive
• Pedro Miguel Casimiro: Head of Marketing
• Rowan Cross: Chief Operating Officer
• Devin Heffer: Brand and Communications Executive
• Carol Tshabalala: Current Ambassador

Suren Rampersadh, the man that has been with Owen Heffer since pretty much the very beginning, is the CEO of Hollywoodbets. He is highly regarded in the post too, having claimed Best CEO of the Year at the 2018 Gambling Industry Awards held in South Africa. His time working with Heffer predates Hollywoodbets too, as they first joined forces back in 1986.

With 5500+ employees (*source: Wikipedia), other notable names include Adheesh Maharaj, who is the Financial and Commercial Executive. He took up this role in January 2018 having previously been a Business Development Executive at Hollywoodbets. There is also, Head of Marketing, Pedro Miguel Casimiro and the long-serving Rowan Cross, Chief Operating Officer, who has been at the post since 2014 and at Hollywoodbets since 2008.

Finally, as is often the case in such businesses, Owen and Lesley’s son, Devin, has landed himself a senior role within the company. Currently, Devin Heffer is the Brand and Communications Executive for Hollywoodbets. He did not walk straight into this high-ranking position though, he began as a betting support analyst in 2009, before moving up to social media manager in 2011.

Brand ambassadors include Jerry Sikhosana (soccer player), Brian Baloyi (goalkeeper), Akona Ndungane and Odwa Ndungane (rugby players), Anthony Delpech (horse jockey), Mike Procter (cricket player), Nomzamo Mbatha (actress), Robert Marawa (radio host) and Carol Tshabalala (broadcaster).

Where is Hollywoodbets Located?

Although Hollywoodbets have branched out into other nations either physically and/or virtually (Mozambique, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland), they have remained in the place where it all began, Durban, South Africa. This is of course where the man who is the owner of Hollywoodbets calls home.

Headquarters Address for 2024

The address for the Hollywoodbets headquarters is: Hollywoodbets, 6 Tetford Circle, Umhlanga Business Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Check out the precise location on the map below:

There is no UK or Ireland office but if you do wish to write to them, the address is PO Box 227, 3rd Floor Peveril Buildings, Peveril Square, Douglas, Isle of Man IM99 1RZ.

Why Knowing the Hollywodbets Owners is Important

Knowing who is the owner of Hollywoodbets might well be important for a couple reasons. Firstly, it helps create a sense of trust that you would not get with a nameless brand owned by various anonymous investors. If anything goes wrong with Hollywoodbets, it would reflect poorly on Owen Heffer himself, so there is an added incentive for him to keep the brand out of any trouble.

Some players may also like knowing that they are betting at a site owned by someone with a genuine passion for betting and who started from nothing and built his way up. For these people, Owen’s long-standing commitment to betting and humble origins makes Hollywoodbets a more attractive option than some rival brands. In addition, many punters simply prefer to bet with a smaller, family-owned, independent bookie, rather than a huge global conglomerate in the hands of shareholders.

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