UK gambling regulator has new chairwoman: Ruth Evans takes over from Charles Counsell

The United Kingdom's Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced on September 7 the appointment of Ruth Evans as the new Chair of the Gambling Commission, the British gambling regulator. The appointment, signed by Secretary of State Lisa Nandy, will be effective from September 30, 2026 for a period of five years.

Evans takes over from Charles Counsell OBE, who had served as interim chairman since February 2025, when he took over following the departure of Marcus Boyle in January of that year. The Commission thanked Counsell for his leadership during an "important period" that, according to the body, brought stability to the institution.

A long-standing regulator and renowned advocate for consumer rights, Evans currently chairs Stop Scams UK, an anti-fraud alliance that brings together banks, technology and telecommunications operators. For more than four decades she has chaired the Independent Authority on Parliamentary Standards (IPSA), was the first chair of the Bar Standards Board, a lay member of the General Medical Council and a non-executive advisor to the Serious Fraud Office. In 2018 she led the working group that promoted the voluntary refund code for victims of transfer fraud (APP) and has recently been appointed president of the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board.

"Ruth assumes the presidency at an enormously important time, to support a sustainable and thriving industry with the essential protections needed to prevent harm," said Lisa Nandy, who also thanked Counsell for her work. The new chair said she is facing the position "at a time when the Commission's role in maintaining fair, safe and crime-free gambling is more important than ever," and defended combining "proportionate regulation with collaboration and shared responsibility" between regulators, industry and the technology sector.

Charles Counsell stressed that Evans' regulatory and consumer protection experience will be "invaluable" to the Council at a key stage, marked by the development of a new strategy, the intensification of the fight against illegal gambling and the implementation of the Gambling Act Review. The position, remunerated to the tune of £85,000 per annum for a two-day week, is appointed under the Gambling Act 2005.