The Gambling Commission has finally ended a leadership vacuum lasting almost 20 months, naming Ruth Evans as its new permanent Chair.
Lisa Nandy made the appointment through the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, handing Evans the role after a prolonged period of interim leadership.
Evans becomes the first permanent Chair of the Gambling Commission in nearly two years, filling a position that has been without a full-time occupant since early 2025.
Charles Counsell had been serving as interim Chair following the departure of Marcus Boyle back in January 2025, with the regulator struggling to fill the position on a permanent basis.
Evans is set to officially join the Commission on 30 September 2026, beginning a five-year term at the helm of the UK’s primary gambling regulator.
Her appointment is one of three key leadership roles that needed filling at the Commission, which still lacks a permanent Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.
Evans brings extensive regulatory experience to the role, having founded Stop Scams UK and previously chaired the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and an advisory group at the Financial Conduct Authority.
Her background also includes chairing the Bar Standards Board, spending nine years as a Lay Member of the General Medical Council chairing its Standards and Ethics Committee, and serving as a Non-Executive Director for the Serious Fraud Office.
“I am pleased to announce Ruth Evans as the incoming chair of the Gambling Commission,” said Nandy, adding that “she becomes Chair at this incredibly important time, supporting a sustainable, thriving industry with the essential protections needed to prevent harm.”
Evans herself welcomed the appointment, stating: “I am delighted to have been appointed chair of the Gambling Commission at a time when its role in keeping gambling fair, safe and crime-free is more important than ever.”
Ahead of his departure from the interim role, Counsell noted the Commission was developing a new strategy and ramping up its work to tackle illegal gambling, with Evans set to play a “pivotal” role.
Evans will also help finalise measures stemming from the Gambling Act review’s subsequent white paper, a process that has been ongoing for some time across the broader industry.
The Chair position carries a remuneration of £85,000 per annum for a time commitment of two days per week across the five-year term.
