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UK Gambling Commission CEO Neil McArthur Resigns Amid Industry Review
By Jeff Osienya Mar 17, 2021 IndustryNeil McArthur, the UK Gambling Commission CEO bows out after serving the organization in different roles for 15 years. Two executives will step up to jointly head the Commission temporarily as the gaming sector regulations face a review.Neil McArthur, the CEO of the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) has stepped down after steering the gaming ombudsman for less than three years. McArthur was first appointed as an interim Chief Executive Officer in February 2018 after the resignation of the then CEO, Sarah Harrison, who stepped down to take up a new role in the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.
Before his interim CEO appointment, McArthur had been serving the gaming watchdog as chief counsel and executive director after rising through the ranks from a general counsel role when he joined the regulator in 2006. Upon his assumption of the role of CEO after the departure of his predecessor, the Commission endorsed his appointment citing a focus on the ‘strengthening of protections against gambling harms’ with the organization’s new leadership.
In a statement announcing his resignation with immediate effect on Monday, Neil McArthur said;
Quote“I am proud of everything the Gambling Commission has achieved during my 15 years with the organisation. We have taken significant steps forward to make gambling fairer and safer and I know that I leave the organisation in a strong position to meet its future challenges. With a review of the Gambling Act underway now feels the right time to step away and allow a new Chief Executive to lead the Commission on the next stage in its journey.”
Departure at a Turbulent Time for the UK Gambling Industry
McArthur’s exit from the Gambling Commission comes at a time when the regulator has been facing backlash for not doing enough to handle the burgeoning online and mobile gaming verticals of the larger gambling industry. During his tenure, there was growing dissatisfaction with how licensed operators in the region used and offered VIP schemes to their patrons and how gambling advertising in the football world is affecting youngsters and the vulnerable demographics who suffer or are recovering from gambling addiction.
On his part, McArthur responded to the concerns by launching measures to put tighter controls on VIP programs for the UK licensed operators for instance by banning the participation of players under 25 years old into the said VIP schemes. He also was behind the introduction of restrictions on credit card gambling and initiated tougher gambling advertising codes of conduct to protect underage and vulnerable populations.
Additionally, McArthur has pushed for more player protective game design standards for online casinos in a bid to reduce any compulsive gambling effects that games like online slot machines may have. Other changes that he oversaw include the slashing of maximum wagers on FOBTs (fixed-odds betting terminals) from £100 to £2 and the increase of the minimum age of participation in the National Lottery from 16 years to 18 years and above.
In line with his exit statement, McArthur’s departure is also coming amid the overhaul of the 2005 Gambling Act which some have argued is obsolete as it came in effect at a time when online gambling was still in its infancy and isn’t a match for what iGaming is today.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports (DCMS) is currently reviewing the Gambling Act to bring it up to par with the modern era where online gambling is equally as popular as in-person gambling. Some of the measures that are being considered include a requirement where internet gamblers have to justify their expenditure to licensed gaming operators as proof that they can afford any losses that they may incur why gambling online.
New Gambling Commission CEO to Be Named Much Later in the Year
Overall, Neil McArthur has served the UK Gambling Commission for 15 years. Now that he has left the organization, the CEO role will be filled in the interim jointly by Sarah Gardner who was McArthur’s deputy, and Sally Jones, the current Chief Operating Officer of the regulator.
Given that Bill Moyes, the Chairperson of the Commission will be completing his term later in the year, McArthur’s permanent successor will not be named right now. The appointment of a new CEO is in the hands of the next chairman who will step in after Moyes’ departure.
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