MPs Question Allwyn UK Interim Chief's William Hill Past
Two British MPs known for pushing gambling reform have written to the Gambling Commission to raise concerns about the appointment of Phil Walker as interim chief executive of National Lottery operator Allwyn UK, questioning his record at former employer William Hill.
Iain Duncan Smith and Dawn Butler wrote to the regulator describing themselves as “deeply concerned” about Walker's appointment, according to a letter seen by The Guardian.
Allwyn UK told SBC News that both the Gambling Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport were informed of the appointment before it was announced.
Walker's Record At William Hill
Walker spent more than four years in senior roles at William Hill, including a spell as UK and Ireland managing director.
He held that post when the operator was ordered to pay a £19.2 million settlement to the Gambling Commission in March 2023 over social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures, still the largest such penalty in the regulator's history.
Then chief executive Andrew Rhodes said at the time the Commission gave “serious consideration to licence suspension.”
Walker himself received a formal warning tied to his Personal Management Licence, but kept the licence when the Commission announced its findings more than a year after the settlement.
He later became chief commercial officer at 888 Holdings, now Evoke, following the group's 2021 acquisition of William Hill.
A Non-Executive Role Still To Run
Walker remains a non-executive director of City Gaming, which owns adult gaming centre operator Game Nation, a position Allwyn UK says he agreed to relinquish before taking the interim role, and that he will hold only until early September.
Duncan Smith and Butler have also linked the appointment to their opposition to Prime Minister Andy Burnham's push to scrap the Aim to Permit rule that limits new betting shops on the high street.
An Allwyn UK spokesperson told SBC News that Walker “brings valuable operational, digital and marketing experience alongside a significant understanding of our operating landscape,” and said his appointment would help the National Lottery enter its next stage of growth.
Walker takes up the interim role on September 7, and Allwyn UK confirmed the search for a permanent chief executive is already underway.
The National Lottery is regulated separately from betting sites and gaming operators under the National Lottery Act rather than the Gambling Act.
