Gambling Commission Opens Search for New Chief Executive

^{Victoria Square House in Birmingham houses the Gambling Commission, which has opened recruitment for a permanent Chief Executive Officer. (Photo: Oosoom / Wikimedia Commons)}

The Gambling Commission has published a job listing for a permanent Chief Executive Officer, opening recruitment for the role that has sat on an interim basis since Andrew Rhodes left the regulator in April.

The listing, posted on the Commission's own careers portal, directs candidates to apply through executive search firm GatenbySanderson rather than the regulator's standard recruitment channels, reflecting the seniority of the post. It describes the vacancy as requiring 'an exceptional leader' to take the regulator through 'a significant period of change'.

Role Covers the Gambling Act Review and a New Illegal Markets Push

According to the job description, the incoming chief executive will lead implementation of reforms arising from the Gambling Act Review, as well as the development and rollout of the Commission's Illegal Markets programme. That programme is tasked with disrupting illegal gambling in the UK and delivering a return on a three-year investment from HM Treasury starting in the 2026-27 financial year.

The listing also places oversight of National Lottery regulation and work with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on consumer protection among the role's core responsibilities. As Accounting Officer, the chief executive will answer for how the Commission manages its resources and budget.

'The role carries a significant national and international profile, requiring you to represent the Commission with authority, build influential relationships and work alongside international regulatory partners to address the opportunities and challenges presented by a rapidly evolving sector including the threat from illegal gambling,' the job summary states.

Vacancy Dates Back to Rhodes' April Departure

Andrew Rhodes announced in February that he would leave the Commission on 30 April 2026 to take up a new role to be announced separately, after what he later described on LinkedIn as 'a whisker under five years' in the job. Deputy Chief Executive Sarah Gardner stepped up as Acting Chief Executive to cover his responsibilities during the transition, a role she has now held for more than five months.

A permanent appointment would give the regulator stable leadership heading into a period that includes active enforcement cases against UK gambling operators and ongoing litigation such as the High Court's recent ruling that backed Allwyn's National Lottery licence against rival bidder challenges.

The Commission has not given a timeline for when the recruitment process will close or when a new chief executive is expected to start. Applications are being accepted exclusively through the Commission's own job listing, which also sets out the full delivery, strategic leadership, corporate management and governance responsibilities of the post.

Whoever takes the job will inherit a regulator balancing a reform agenda set out by government against resourcing demands from an expanding illegal-market crackdown, all while keeping a closer eye on operator compliance following a run of high-profile sanctions against land-based and online licensees this year.