The UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has appointed Ruth Evans as chair of the Gambling Commission. She takes up the role on 30 September 2025 for a five-year term, replacing Charles Counsell, who had served since February 2025 following the departure of Marcus Boyle in January last year.
Evans leads Stop Scams UK, a platform bringing together banks, technology firms and telecoms operators to combat payment fraud, which she established in 2019. She previously chaired the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and the Bar Standards Board, served on the General Medical Council, and was a non-executive director at the Serious Fraud Office. In 2018 she led the group that drafted a voluntary industry code for reimbursing victims of payment scams.
Counsel said before leaving that the regulator is developing a new strategy and stepping up enforcement against illegal gambling. Evans, he added, will play a central role in finalising measures from the white paper that followed the Gambling Act review. Evans herself emphasised her commitment to online safety through proportionate regulation and partnership between regulators, industry and technology companies.
DCMS Secretary Lisa Nandy said the appointment comes at a critical moment when a sustainable industry needs protection from harm. Turnover at the Commission continues: policy and research director Tim Miller is leaving after ten years.
