Ruth Evans Named UK Gambling Commission Chair
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has appointed Ruth Evans as Chair of the Gambling Commission for a five-year term starting September 30, 2026, ending a search that has run since Charles Counsell OBE took over as interim Chair in February 2025.
Evans is a prominent UK regulatory figure and consumer champion, currently Chair of Stop Scams UK, where she leads collaboration between major banks, tech companies and telecoms firms on fraud prevention. Her career spans more than four decades across charities, public regulatory bodies and financial oversight boards.
She has chaired the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, regulating MPs' pay and expenses; served as the first Chair of the Bar Standards Board; spent nine years as a Lay Member of the General Medical Council chairing its Standards and Ethics Committee; and served as a Non-Executive Director for the Serious Fraud Office.
In 2018 she chaired the steering group behind the industry code that reimburses victims of Authorised Push Payment bank transfer scams, and she has also recently been appointed Chair of the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board.
What DCMS And Evans Said
DCMS Secretary of State Lisa Nandy said: 'I am pleased to announce Ruth Evans as the incoming chair of the Gambling Commission. She becomes Chair at this incredibly important time, supporting a sustainable, thriving industry with the essential protections needed to prevent harm.' Nandy also thanked outgoing interim Chair Charles Counsell OBE 'for his leadership of the Gambling Commission since February 2025,' calling him 'a passionate and diligent Chair.'
Evans said: 'I am delighted to have been appointed Chair of the Gambling Commission at a time when its role in keeping gambling fair, safe and crime-free is more important than ever. Throughout my career in consumer protection, I have seen that the best outcomes are achieved through effective collaboration between regulators, industry and the technology sector.' She added that she wants to combine 'proportionate regulation with partnership and shared responsibility' to build public confidence in the sector that includes online sports betting.
Counsell himself welcomed the appointment: 'Ruth's regulatory and consumer experience will be invaluable to the Board as we continue our work to make gambling safer, fairer and crime-free. She joins the Gambling Commission at an important time for the gambling sector and the Commission.'
The Role And The Process
Under the Gambling Act 2005, the Commission Chair is appointed by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, remunerated at £85,000 a year for a time commitment of two days a week.
Ministers were assisted by an Advisory Assessment Panel including a senior departmental official and a Senior Independent Panel Member approved by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, with the process regulated under the Cabinet Office's Governance Code on Public Appointments. DCMS confirmed Evans has not declared any significant political activity in the past five years, as required under the Code.
Evans arrives as the Commission works through implementation of the Gambling Act Review and continues what DCMS describes as 'world leading work to tackle illegal gambling,' alongside development of a new Commission strategy.
Her appointment ends a chair vacancy that has run for roughly 20 months since her predecessor's departure, giving the regulator permanent leadership as it navigates ongoing debate over gambling taxation and affordability checks.
