Julian Jarvis is the co-founder and CEO of Pragmatic Play, and he’s held the role since the company launched. The business itself is privately owned by a group of investors led by Veridian (Gibraltar) Limited. Pragmatic Play is not publicly listed, and its shareholder breakdown is confidential, which is normal for a private company.
That’s the short answer. The longer one is more interesting because it explains how one person took a 2015 startup and shaped it into one of the most recognised names in the industry in under a decade.
Who is the CEO of Pragmatic Play?
Julian Jarvis is co-founder and CEO. He brings a mix of legal, investment and executive experience across the internet, gaming and tech sectors, having worked with startups as well as private and public companies. Earlier in his career he was a legal and business specialist in the internet sector during the AOL Time Warner years. In 2004 the founders of what later became PartyGaming recruited him, and that was where his iGaming chapter properly began.
He carried a regulated-markets instinct into Pragmatic Play from the start, and it has defined the company ever since. Under his leadership, the product range has widened and the business has pushed into regulated markets, including the UK, Switzerland, Italy and Latin America. He has also driven the company’s responsible gaming standards and its charitable work, including ongoing support for charities such as GimSams, Calpe House and St John Ambulance in Gibraltar where the company is headquartered.
Who else is on the leadership team?
The senior team has grown alongside the business, pulling in experienced people from iGaming and beyond. Mark Maislish joined as Chief Revenue Officer in November 2024, bringing a finance background that includes senior roles at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. He looks after revenue performance and the company’s international expansion. Irina Cornides, formerly of Gamesys and BGO Group, has served as Chief Operating Officer since 2022.
When did Julian Jarvis launch Pragmatic Play?
Pragmatic Play launched in 2015 from its Gibraltar headquarters, with a clear focus from day one: high-quality slots and live casino content built for regulated markets. The early years were about laying foundations, sharpening the product direction, and securing licensing in the markets that matter most to global operators, such ast the UK, Malta, Italy, Sweden, and later Ontario, Brazil and a long list of others.
Those foundations paid off in the catalogue. Big Bass grew into a phenomenon, and Sweet Bonanza and Gates of Olympus followed to become some of the most-played slots on the market. By 2019, Pragmatic Play moved into live casino with around 50 tables. Today, it runs more than 500, with plans to add over 1,000 more across the next two years.
What is ARRISE, and how does it support the operation?
Pragmatic Play is heavily supported by ARRISE, the international services group that keeps the day-to-day operation running. It is a global software development and services business built for the iGaming industry, also headquartered in Gibraltar and operating across multiple global locations, including Malta, Canada, India, Latvia, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. ARRISE supports Pragmatic Play across the operational side of the business, from product development and IT support through to marketing, events and commercial. Is Pragmatic Play licensed and regulated?
Yes, it is. Pragmatic Play holds licences and regulatory approval from some of the most respected bodies in Europe and further afield, the Gambling Commission of Great Britain, the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner and the Malta Gaming Authority among them. The reach is wide: 30-plus regulated markets, more than 30 languages and over 170 currencies, all delivered through a single API integration.
So, who runs Pragmatic Play?
Co-founder Julian Jarvis runs Pragmatic Play as CEO, and has done since launch. The company is privately held by a group of investors led by Veridian (Gibraltar) Limited, with the separate iGaming services group, ARRISE, providing the technical and operational backbone that keeps the business running worldwide.
