UK Gambling Commission Appoints Seven New Commissioners, None With Gaming Experience

Posted on: November 1, 2023, 09:34h. 

Last updated on: November 1, 2023, 01:23h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has seven new commissioners to help guide the gaming regulator’s activity. None have professional experience in the industry.

British flags fly in front of the Palace of Westminster
British flags fly in front of the Palace of Westminster. The country’s gaming regulator has seven new commissioners. (Image: Getty Images)

The UKGC announced the new appointments on Tuesday. The seven individuals officially began on September 11.

The lack of representation from inside the gaming industry in the ranks of the UKGC has been an issue brought up before.

Four-Year Commissioners

Lloydette Bai-Marrow

Lloydette Bai-Marrow is a founding partner of ParaMetric Global Consulting, a firm dedicated to economic crime investigations, according to her LinkedIn page. She has also served as a senior prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service and as a panel member for WhistleblowersUK.

She is also the chair of the Spotlight on Corruption. The nonprofit “shines a light on the UK’s role in corruption at home and abroad,” according to its website.

Helen Phillips

Dr. Helen Phillips is the chair of NHS Professionals Ltd and the Chartered Insurance Institute. She also served as the chair of the Legal Services Board for eight years.

Phillips has a degree in Zoology and a PhD in Environmental Science from the University College Dublin. She previously worked as the CEO of Natural England. The organization advises the UK government on environmental policies.

She also had a 10-year stint as a leading executive with Environment Agency, a Europewide environmental regulatory entity.

David Rossington

David Rossington is the deputy chair of the Advisory Committee on National Records and Archives. This followed a four-year career with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This entity played a significant role in facilitating the UK’s gambling reforms.

Rossington most recently was in charge of the Blythe House Programme. The division is currently undertaking a project to provide better public access to objects controlled by major British museums.

Before DCMS, Rossington spent more than six and a half years with the Department for Communities and Local Government. He was the financial director with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government-led unit, in addition to other directorial roles.

Five-Year Commissioners

Charles Counsell

Charles Counsell was the CEO of The Pensions Regulator from April 2019 to March 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile. That was his second stint with the UK regulator overseeing workplace pensions. He served as its executive director of automatic enrollment from July 2011 to May 2017.

He was also the CEO of The Money Advice Service, a government-led financial advisory that later became part of the Money and Pensions Service. He led the entity from June 2017 to December 2018.

Helen Dodds OStJ

Helen Dodds is a lawyer with an extensive track record. She served as a non-executive director for the London Court of International Arbitration and as the head of dispute resolution for Standard Chartered Bank.

She is also a consultant and honorary senior fellow of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. Intertwined with all of her responsibilities, Dodds is the director of LegalUK, an organization that campaigns for the use of English law in domestic and international business matters.

Sheree Howard

Sheree Howard is the Executive Director of Risk & Compliance Oversight for the Financial Conduct Authority. Before this, she was the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Director of Advisory, Commercial and Private Banking, Conduct and Regulatory Affairs.

Howard has worked as an actuary with several organizations. She also held various positions with Direct Line Group, a UK-based insurance company.

Claudia Mortimore

Claudia Mortimore has been the Deputy Executive Counsel for the Financial Reporting Council for the last five years. Her history with the regulatory entity and developer of the UK’s Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes dates back five years.

Before that, she was a lawyer with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. That followed several years with the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and law firm Red Lion Chambers.