Harris Hagan

Gambling and leisure.

Managing Partner

John co-founded Harris Hagan with Julian Harris in May 2004.  Specialising in all aspects of online and land-based gambling law, and with over 20 years’ of gambling law experience, John is recognised as a leading gambling lawyer by operators, suppliers and regulators throughout the world. He advises many of the world’s largest land-based and online gambling businesses (B2C and B2B), as well as many start-ups, investors and leading law firms. John has extensive gambling legal, regulatory and licensing experience advising on legal classification, non-remote and remote operating licence applications, casino competitions and premises licensing, personal applications, change of corporate control applications, transaction due diligence, corporate investments and transactions, complex group restructuring and the rationalisation of group licences. He also has extensive compliance and enforcement experience advising on general compliance and reporting requirements, compliance assessments, regulatory investigations, corporate evaluations, operating and personal licence reviews, and developing associated remedial compliance programmes and action plans.

John is a regular conference speaker and contributor to industry and specialist legal publications.

Trained and qualified at Wedlake Bell, 1993. Biddle/Pinsents, 1998-2004. Founding partner Harris Hagan, 2004.

Trustee and former Deputy Chairman of Gamcare; Former Chairman of the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling; A Past President of the International Association of Gaming Advisors.

Royal Belfast Academical Institution; University College, Dublin (1989 BCL).

Rugby; football; golf; chess.