GB Gambling Commission announces senior appointments

The GB Gambling Commission has confirmed the appointments of Terry Babbs, Brian Bannister, Jo Hill and Sir Martin Narey as commissioners for the national regulatory body.

Appointed by Oliver Dowden MP, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the quartet will commence their new roles at the Commission with immediate effect.

Babbs has held executive roles in both the private and public sectors, serving as ethical trading director for supermarket giant tesco Tesco and a number of global supply chain management organisations.

Aside from his new role at the Commission, Babbs is also the senior independent director at the General Dental Council, vice chair of the investment committee of Oxfam’s Enterprise Development Programme, and a non-executive director of HMRC’s Valuation Office Agency.

Meanwhile, Bannister is currently executive director for strategic insight and influence at The Law Society of England and Wales, having previously led global communications for KPMG. Bannister also served in a number of senior roles at PwC, including its UK director of communications for six years.

Hill serves as executive director of strategy and risk at The Pensions Regulator, leading on corporate strategy, risk management, data and analysis. She was previously director of market intelligence, data and analysis at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

In addition, Narey has had a long career in the public sector, including a spell as director general of the Prison Service of England and Wales for seven years and heading the Probation Service for a three-year term.

“Terry, Brian, Jo and Sir Martin bring a wealth of valuable expertise to the Board of Commissioners,” Gambling Commission chair Bill Moyes said. “Their collective experience will help us as we look to implement further protections for consumers and strongly regulate what is a fast-moving and innovative industry.

“I’d like to welcome them to the Commission and look forward to working closely with them.”

The quadruple appointment comes after the Commission this week announced that it will direct £9m in funds from regulatory settlements to GambleAware, a commissioning charity that supports initiatives to tackle gambling-related harm, during the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The Commission this week also updated the regulations surrounding society lotteries, raising prize limits but also requiring a greater deal of transparency regarding spending of proceeds.