Rhodes’ end: assessing the Gambling Commission chief exec’s legacy

The Gambling Commission (GC) took the industry by surprise yesterday, 9 February, by announcing that chief executive Andrew Rhodes will depart on 30 April, after nearly five years in the hot seat to “take a up new role”. Referencing an unspecified new job, which looks odds-on to be another senior public appointment, plus the use of language like “has decided to leave” would suggest the 48-year-old is exiting this non-governmental public body, or quango, of his own accord.

Charles Counsell, the regulator’s interim chair, praised Rhodes – who replaced Neil McArthur as chief executive on an interim basis in 2021, before being appointed permanently in 2022 – for his “outstanding leadership” over nearly five years. He also insisted the outgoing boss “leaves a strong legacy” in his wake. Assessing Rhodes’ spell in the job, Richard Williams, partner at Keystone Law, characterises it as “a story of steady consolidation”.

“He arrived five years ago at a particularly fractious moment, when relations between the regulator and the gambling industry were strained to an historic low. The early months were cautious, but over time Mr Rhodes demonstrated a clear commitment to rebuilding dialogue and improving transparency. Engagement with stakeholders became more consistent and structured.”

Melanie Ellis, partner at Northridge Law, also highlights the amelioration of relations between the Birmingham-based regulator and the industry under Rhodes’ stewardship. “Thinking about the relationship between the Gambling Commission and licensed operators, I believe this has improved significantly during Andrew’s tenure as CEO. Although licensees may not always – or often – agree with the Commission’s decisions, there is at least an improved line of communication and sense that consultation exercises are meaningful.”  

That said, the role was “far from easy”, Williams points out, most notably the enforcement action meted out to operators during his tenure. In fact, the roll call of the harshest financial penalties to date have been handed down since Rhodes’ arrival, including William Hill Group having to pay a record £19.2m in 2023 for what the GC deemed “widespread and alarming” social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failures. Williams adds: “As compliance assessments intensified and substantial financial penalties were imposed for AML and social responsibility failings, tensions were inevitable. Strengthening standards while seeking to repair relationships is not a comfortable balance for any regulator.”

It could be you…

Rhodes oversaw the awarding of the Fourth National Lottery licence to pan-European lottery operator Allwyn in 2022. Allwyn replaced Camelot, which had run The National Lottery since its inception in 1994. However, unsuccessful bidder and billionaire Richard Desmond is suing the GC in the High Court and seeking £1.3bn in damages for what his company claims was a “fundamentally flawed” and “unfair” selection process. The legal action over the awarding of the Fourth National Lottery Licence means it “would seem prudent to reserve judgement on just how successful it has been”, suggests Dan Waugh, partner at independent analyst firm Regulus Partners.

The introduction of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain – one of the largest surveys of gambling behaviour in the world, usurping older and sporadic health surveys – also happened under Rhodes’ watch. Moreover, he was given the “mammoth task”, as Ellis puts it, of overseeing the implantation reforms in the 2023’s white paper that came out of the Gambling Act 2005 review. He oversaw the reduction in the intensity of online games, the ban of potentially harmful marketing offers and, controversially, the introduction of financial affordability checks.

These checks angered punters and impacted horseracing’s finances, seeing as bookmakers are the main funders of the sport. According to Martin Cruddace, chief executive of Arena Racing Company, the operator of 16 British racecourses, affordability checks will directly cost racing £250m over the next five years. So, it’s perhaps telling that the GC turned off replies to its X post announcing Rhodes’ departure.

Waugh says: “The black market has mushroomed on Andrew Rhodes’ watch, in part due to the unofficial policy of affordability checks, and these additional measures could result in further leakage.” Rhodes came in for criticism in 2023 when he downplayed the scale and threat posed by the black market when he addressed parliament. “I think the risk is overstated,” he told MPs, adding that “the size of the black market is very small”.

Fast forward to 2026 and tackling the black market has become the elephant in the room for the GC. As part of the Autumn Budget last November, the government has allocated an additional £26m of funding to support the regulator in its fight against it, yet the Betting and Gaming Council has called this sum “a drop in the ocean”. Elsewhere, the GC, which last month accused Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, of “turning a blind eye” to illegal gambling ads, has also said there will be “no more warnings” for UK-licensed B2B firms still supplying the illicit market. 

On this task ahead for Rhodes’ replacement, Ellis says: “A key priority for his successor should be working to minimise the number of British consumers who gamble with unlicensed operators. As well as ramping up efforts to police illegal operators, I would like to see the regulator give more in-depth consideration to the reasons consumers are drawn to the black market and whether the current regulatory regime can be amended to increase channelisation.”

While Williams argues there been “some progress in addressing unlicensed activity”, he suggests the coming years will present fresh challenges. This includes remote gaming and betting duty hikes, as well as proposals to increase licence fees. “Increases in gambling duties are likely to reshape the market,” Williams explains, “potentially significantly reducing the number of operators and, by extension, the regulator’s funding – even if fees rise as planned for those operators that remain. The Commission will need to navigate this next phase with care.”

Situations vacant

As for the immediate future, the GC, which generated income of £27.4m from licence applications and annual fees for the year ending 31 March 2025, has appointed deputy chief executive Sarah Gardner as acting chief executive. The regulator said it will “shortly begin the process of recruiting for a chief executive for an interim period”. The vacancy Rhodes eventually filled was advertised at the time with a salary of up to £150,000 per annum. The job description had said knowledge of the sector was “highly desirable” but “not imperative”.

Rhodes himself had no prior gambling industry experience when he first joined the GC, having worked in the past for Swansea University, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Food Standards Agency and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, or DVLA. Williams recalls the appointment of Rhodes as interim chief executive in 2021 “raised eyebrows”. “Some questioned whether a candidate with experience largely in the public sector, and without prior gambling-sector knowledge, could effectively lead a complex and commercially nuanced regulator.” However, he says the chief executive’s “understanding of the sector deepened” as time went on, as did “his authority in the role”.

The GC, which is also on the hunt for a new chair, a position offering a salary of £59,950 for two days of work a week, will have to decide whether to make an internal or external chief executive appointment, though that obviously depends on the calibre of candidates who apply. Rhodes’ predecessor, McArthur, was a promoted from within, having risen through the ranks from 2006 to take up the reins 12 years later following the exit of Sarah Harrison.

Similarly, Gardner has been with the regulator since 2009 and has occupied a number of leadership roles during her time there. Installed as deputy chief executive in 2020, she currently manages a portfolio that includes regulation of the UK National Lottery and corporate strategy development. Williams says: “The Commission would benefit from a chief executive who combines regulatory experience with a grounded understanding of the industry they will oversee.”

Meanwhile, Ellis comments: “Being leader of the Gambling Commission seems often to be a thankless task, with a sense of ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’, as criticism comes from both from the gambling industry and anti-gambling activists.” She believes finding a successor by 30 April “will be very difficult, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see some internal candidates for the role”. 

The point about heading up the regulator being a poisoned chalice is a perception that is bound to deter some from applying to become the fifth chief executive since the body’s formation in 2005. Indeed, speaking on The Racing Room podcast following the news of Rhodes’ upcoming departure, commercial disputes lawyer Harry Stewart-Moore said the head of the GC is “never going to be popular with the gambling industry”. He emphasised: “It’s an absolute nightmare of a job.”

The post Rhodes’ end: assessing the Gambling Commission chief exec’s legacy first appeared on EGR Intel.

 As the search begins for the regulator’s next boss, how will Andrew Rhodes’ reign be remembered and what major challenges lie ahead for his successor?
The post Rhodes’ end: assessing the Gambling Commission chief exec’s legacy first appeared on EGR Intel.