Gambling Commission Director Quits… Just Weeks After Another Board Member Left the Regulator

The executive director of the Gambling Commission, Tim Miller, had been part of the team at the commission for more than a decade, but will leave in September amid a time of monumental regulatory upheaval for the industry.

His former colleague, the Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes, left his position at the end of April to leave the organisation with a significant leadership void to fill.

New Challenge

Miller certainly had a lot on his plate during his lengthy tenure.

A chief undertaking was implementing the findings of the Gambling Act overhaul, which resulted in the long-delayed white paper published by the previous Conservative government.

The changes identified by the paper included the introduction of maximum stake limits on slot games, as well as other design mechanics that saw slots slowed down and the auto play function banned.

Changes have also been made to the rules regarding age verification and direct marketing, although Miller’s biggest headache has come with the ongoing process of introducing financial affordability checks in the UK.

If approved, they would place a cap on the amount that punters can lose before a betting site must undertake a financial risk assessment, with credit agency reports used to determine the individual’s position.

However, there are still some concerns that, even after a pilot scheme that lasted for the best part of a year, the assessments would not be able to be completed in a ‘frictionless’ way.

Miller has also been a key figure in enhancing research into the UK sector, establishing the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, which is the biggest gathering of industry data anywhere in the world.

Reflecting on his time with the regulator, Miller said:

What Happens Next?

It’s thought that Miller, like Rhodes, will take up a position adjacent to the gambling industry.

A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission revealed that their former director would be moving on to ‘support governments, regulators and other organisations that are developing and overseeing gambling regulatory systems around the world.’

Rhodes, meanwhile, is now a consultant to Hawkbridge, a ‘strategic advisory firm’ that has connections within the betting sector.

The acting chief executive of the regulator is Sarah Gardner, who is temporarily filling in for Rhodes. She said of Miller’s decision to leave:

Commission chiefs will now need to find another replacement for a senior member of staff, at a time when the board will be meeting to discuss whether those financial risk assessments will be introduced or not.