The Gambling Commission regulator has appointed Nick Rust to lead its newly-formed Industry Forum initiative as it looks to gain a better understanding on the views of British gambling operators.

The watchdog established the ten-member Industry Forum in September following criticism it lacked sufficient industry expertise among its top ranks. The new body is to now be staffed by those with experience of the country’s gambling sector and sit alongside the Gambling Commission’s other consultative and stakeholder engagement enterprises encompassing the Digital Advisory Panel, the Lived Experience Advisory Panel and the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling.

Practiced Professional

Rust has more than 25 years of experience in the British betting industry including executive roles with prominent bookmakers Sky Bet, Gala Coral and Ladbrokes. The new Chair for the Industry Forum has also held leading positions within the gambling and sport sectors embracing a six-year stint as Chief Executive Officer for the British Horseracing Authority.

The Gambling Commission detailed that Rust is a founding partner of GVS EQ, which is a firm specializing in equine sports, and also currently serves as the Chair for the Starting Price Regulatory Commission. The regulator revealed that the experienced figure is moreover a non-executive director for Redcar Racecourse and a trustee of the Injured Jockeys Fund.

Additional Acumen

The Chair for the Gambling Commission, Marcus Boyle, expressed his delight at Rust’s appointment for a two-year term before proclaiming that the Industry Forum is to provide the regulator with a better understanding of the country’s wider operational environment as well as insights into any future policies.

"I am delighted that Nick has been appointed as the inaugural Chair of the Gambling Commission's Industry Forum,” Boyle said. “Nick's extensive knowledge of the gambling sector makes him a valuable asset and I am confident he will work with us to create a productive and insightful Industry Forum.”

Adverse Assessment

The Gambling Commission is braced for potential change following the April publication of the ‘white paper’ review into the nation’s current gambling landscape. Rust was recently critical of the regulator’s ‘limited’ understanding of betting as well as its ‘complacency’ towards the threats of the black market and asserted that these could have encouraged it to advocate for the ‘blunt instrument’ of affordability checks.