GAMSTOP has announced the appointment of former MP Chris Pond as the self-exclusion scheme’s new chair.
Pond will assume the role in September 2025, replacing the outgoing Jenny Watson in the position.
Watson, who has served as the non-profit organisation’s chair since 2018, announced her impending departure back in April.
Pond is currently the chair of both the Money and Mental Health Advisory Board and the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Services Consumer Panel.
He previously chaired the Financial Inclusion Commission between June 2020 and May 2025, as well as serving as chair of the Lending Standards Board from March 2017 to March 2023.
Pond also has experience within the gambling industry, acting as a trustee for GambleAware from April 2017 to March 2020.
The former Labour MP sat in the House of Commons from 1997 until 2005. He also served as a parliamentary under-secretary in the Department for Work and Pensions under former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Outside of Pond’s appointment, GAMSTOP has reported a record number of registrations for 2025.
The organisation noted a 19% increase in registrations for the year, with monthly registrations “breaking all previous records” twice in successive months.
The self-exclusion scheme reported a record 10,281 registrations in April, only for the figure to hit 10,344 in May.
A large driver of the increase in registrations was 16-24-year-olds, with registrations among the cohort increasing 44% year on year in the first six months of 2025.
Within this demographic, a six-month exclusion period is the most common, making up 39% of new registrations for the first half of the year.
The five-year exclusion option is proving to be the most popular among all demographics, accounting for 47% of all exclusions.
Almost 600,000 people have self-excluded via GAMSTOP since its launch in 2018.
Regarding the data, GAMSTOP CEO Fiona Palmer said: “Our data shows a significant spike in the number of younger consumers who are [managing] their gambling, and this has driven the record registrations in 2025.
“They are increasingly choosing six-month exclusions, which suggests that GAMSTOP is being used as a tool to allow them a break from gambling.
“We have worked very hard to increase awareness of GAMSTOP among younger consumers and to destigmatise the use of self-exclusion.
“We want them to realise that GAMSTOP can be used as a preventative tool alongside other solutions, giving them breathing space to take back control”.
Speaking to EGR earlier this month, Palmer explained how the younger generation is becoming increasingly aware of the self-exclusion tool through social media channels such as TikTok and Snapchat.
The post GAMSTOP appoints new chair as registrations reach record levels in 2025 first appeared on EGR Intel.
Former MP Chris Pond is set to succeed Jenny Watson in the role with the national self-exclusion scheme in September 2025
The post GAMSTOP appoints new chair as registrations reach record levels in 2025 first appeared on EGR Intel.