Organisational structure
Our organisational structure provides a clear picture of our Commissioners, Executive Directors and Programme Directors.
Our operating model
When we launched our Strategy for 2018 - 2021, we said that we were looking at our operating model to put us in the best place to deliver it. This includes elements such as our governance, skills and capability, as well as organising ourselves in the most effective way structurally.
Working closely with our newly appointed chief executive, Neil McArthur, our executive directors will take responsibility for each of our five priorities outlined in the strategy:
Protect the interests of consumers
Sarah Gardner – Executive Director (on maternity leave)
We want consumers to have confidence in the British gambling industry, and feel they are being treated fairly and protected from the risks gambling can pose. Our focus under the ‘protecting the interests of consumers’ strategic priority will be:
- improving the understanding amongst consumers of gambling products
- identifying ways the consumer has more power and control to manage gambling
- promoting greater transparency by putting trusted information into the public domain
- reviewing and strengthening rules to tackle unfair and misleading practices
- ensuring consumers have access to effective dispute resolution services
- improving our understanding of the level and risks of illegal gambling.
Prevent harm to consumers and the public
Tim Miller – Executive Director
We have a clear commitment to make gambling fairer and safer. Our strategy recognises that success will depend upon us, the industry, government and others, all working together with a shared purpose to protect consumers.
Our work in this area will continue to aim to understand the full impact of gambling, which will help us, the industry, and other stakeholders properly manage and minimise those impacts. Our key focuses will be to:
- regulate and take precautionary action where necessary to reduce harm
- expect operators to actively work together and co-operate with each other
- provide leadership to forge a sustained, world-leading approach to tackling gambling-related harm
- work with partners to improve understanding and the impact on society
- shape a future national strategy for safer gambling
- put in place a more effective approach to target funding, supervise progress, evaluate and report on the impact of that national strategy.
Raise standards in the gambling market
Richard Watson and Helen Venn – Executive Directors
More needs to be done, and at a faster pace, by operators to improve ways to ‘know their customers’, to ensure fair and safe play, and to keep markets free from crime and money laundering.
We will be working to help businesses comply: to ensure standards are understood, to facilitate sharing of best practice, to give guidance, and set minimum requirements. We’ll continue to take firm action against businesses that do not uphold the standards we expect and persistently or systemically fail their customers.
Our focus will be on seeking evidence of operators leading a culture of accountability to the customer first, as well as to the regulator. This means firms showing a genuine commitment to providing a fair and safe ‘offer’ to customers. We also expect to see operators innovating to identify effective ways to prevent and minimise gambling-related harm and maintain product and market integrity, and acting quickly to put things right if they go wrong.
Optimise returns to good causes from lotteries
Paul Hope and John Tanner – Executive Directors
Lotteries, including most significantly the National Lottery, make important contributions to society. They provide much needed funds for good causes – sports, arts and culture, community projects and more.
The next three year’s will be a crucial time for the National Lottery so we will be focusing on ensuring the existing licence is being run well: to protect consumers, and create incentives for the current National Lottery licensee, Camelot, to grow sales and contributions to good causes.
We will also be looking at the role of society lotteries and whether the current balance between good cause contributions and costs is appropriate.