Great Britain’s Gambling Commission has announced the appointment of Kirsty Caldwell as interim chair of its Industry Forum.
Caldwell will replace Nick Rust, who confirmed in June last year he would step down after two years as chair. He officially exited the position in November.
The commission said Caldwell will serve in the role while it seeks to appoint a “substantive” chair. Caldwell has been a forum member since March 2024, supporting the organisation while also running her Betsmart Consulting business.
Earlier in her career, Caldwell served as vice president of compliance at Addison Global, the company behind MoPlay. This came after over eight years at William Hill, where her roles included head of compliance for online.
Incidentally, Caldwell also began her career in the industry with William Hill, working as a customer service advisor for five years between December 2003 and December 2008.
Caldwell urges commission-industry cooperation
Launched in September 2023, the Industry Forum was established to offer the commission more insight into the views of operators. It acts as a companion to several stakeholder engagement initiatives and advisory groups. These include the Commission’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel and Advisory Board for Safer Gambling.
The forum also sits alongside the commission’s consumer research activities. In addition, it supports relationships with customer insight companies and relationships with regulators around the world.
“I am delighted to be taking on this role,” Caldwell said. “I remain fully committed to building a healthy, respected gambling sector, and cooperation and communication between regulator and industry is key to achieving this.
“We may not get it right every time, but the important thing is we learn from our mistakes, we keep talking and we keep moving forwards.”