Gambling Commission adverts for CEO at c. £190,000 with clear delivery remit

The Gambling Commission is recruiting a permanent chief executive on a salary of about £190,000, with applications closing at noon on 23 October and a final panel interview scheduled for 9 December. The job description requires the successful candidate to lead the Illegal Markets programme and to deliver a return on HM Treasury's three-year investment from 2026–27, while also overseeing the Gambling Act Review and the National Lottery remit.

Recruitment timetable, location and pay

The advert, hosted on a GatenbySanderson microsite, lists the role as a permanent contract based in Birmingham with an expectation of an average of two days a week in the office and regular travel to London. The salary is advertised at "c. £190,000 per annum" and carries a Civil Service pension at an employer contribution rate of 28.97%, which the advert values at roughly £55,000 a year at that salary level. Preliminary interviews are scheduled between 5 and 13 November, followed by a final panel interview and stakeholder exercise on 9 December. SBC News first reported the advert on 9 October.

The job requires Developed Vetting security clearance and names the post-holder as the Commission's Accounting Officer, making them accountable to Parliament for public money spent by the regulator.

Role responsibilities: Illegal Markets, Gambling Act Review and the National Lottery

The person specification sets out a narrow set of priorities. The chief executive will lead implementation of the Gambling Act Review, oversee the National Lottery with a requirement to "maximise returns to good causes", and direct the Illegal Markets programme, explicitly tasked with "delivering a return on HM Treasury's 3 year investment from 2026-27". The Treasury funding referenced in the business plan totals £26 million over three years and was announced in the November 2025 Budget.

The specification notes that prior chief executive experience is desirable but not essential, and that sector knowledge is useful but must be paired with demonstrable impartiality: candidates with direct industry experience are asked to show they can act impartially and maintain public confidence.

Who is on the selection panel and governance context

Ruth Evans, who became chair on 30 September, has written the welcome to candidates and chairs the selection panel. The panel also includes Emma Ward, Director General at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the commissioner and former interim chair Charles Counsell, Natasha Harris, the Commission's executive director of people services, plus an independent member.

Under the Gambling Act 2005 the Commission appoints its chief executive with the Culture Secretary's consent as to terms and conditions; the advert reiterates that statutory framework and the requirement for security clearance.

The vacancy, recent departures and pay context

Andrew Rhodes announced his departure on 9 February and left on 30 April after almost five years as chief executive. The Commission stated in February it would "shortly begin the process of recruiting a Chief Executive for an interim period"; Sarah Gardner, the deputy chief executive, has been acting chief executive since Rhodes stepped back but no separate interim appointment was announced.

Andrew Rhodes's reported pay in 2024 to 2025 was between £190,000 and £195,000, with a bonus of £15,000 to £20,000; the annual report records his total remuneration, including pension benefits, at £300,000 to £305,000. Gardner, as deputy in the same period, received between £150,000 and £155,000.

Rhodes has since joined the advisory firm Hawkbridge; press coverage in March and June reported those moves. Tim Miller, the Commission's executive director for policy and research, left at the end of June and has launched a consultancy.

Regulatory environment the new chief will inherit

Licence fees rose by a headline 25% from 1 October after the Department for Culture, Media and Sport decided an increase was needed to avoid "significant cutbacks", meaning operators are paying more for regulation at the same time as absorbing higher gambling duties. The business plan also notes that 2026 to 2027 is the final year of the Commission's three-year corporate strategy, so the incoming chief executive will be responsible for setting the next corporate strategy.

Enforcement activity has continued during the vacancy: a £5 million settlement with Grosvenor was announced on 7 October.

Practical implications for candidates and the Commission

A publicly visible salary band within civil-service constraints may limit the pool of private-sector candidates who possess large-scale digital and data transformation experience. The role asks explicitly for those capabilities while also signalling a strict impartiality line for candidates with industry backgrounds.

If the timetable holds, the final interview will fall roughly ten months after Sarah Gardner first stepped into the acting chief executive role, and a candidate required to serve notice elsewhere may not start until into 2027. The Commission remains operational but without a permanent leader to own the coming delivery priorities.

"The next chief executive will be responsible for translating strategic ambition into delivery," Ruth Evans writes in her welcome to candidates.

For readers tracking regulatory appointments and the broader policy environment, the advert links the chief executive role directly to delivery against a funded Illegal Markets programme, the Gambling Act Review and National Lottery stewardship. Further coverage of the Commission's enforcement actions and policy changes can be found in our regulation and news sections.