The head of the Gambling Commission is to step down, leaving the UK’s gambling regulator without a chief executive before a long-awaited government review into the sector.
Neil McArthur resigned with immediate effect, with a search for an interim chief executive due to begin shortly.
The regulator has faced criticism amid a succession of scandals in the industry. The National Audit Office, which monitors public bodies, said the Gambling Commission had not adequately adjusted to the rise of online and mobile gaming, in part because it was underfunded compared with the growing scale of the industry.
Prominent concerns include the industry’s use of so-called VIP schemes, giving perks to frequent gamblers, as well as concern about the impact on young and vulnerable people of gambling advertising and its links to football.
The regulator’s deputy chief executive, Sarah Gardner, and its chief operating officer, Sally Jones, will jointly become acting chief executives.
However, a permanent chief executive will not be hired until a new chair is appointed. The term of office of the chairman, Bill Moyes, ends later this year.
McArthur spent nearly 15 years at the regulator, serving as both general counsel and as chief executive from 2018.
He said: “I am proud of everything the Gambling Commission has achieved during my 15 years with the organisation. We have taken significant steps forward to make gambling fairer and safer, and I know that I leave the organisation in a strong position to meet its future challenges.
“With a review of the Gambling Act under way, now feels the right time to step away and allow a new chief executive to lead the commission on the next stage in its journey.”
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source https://cryptonews.wealthsharingsystems.com/2021/03/head-of-british-gambling-commission-resigns-gambling/
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