Gambling Commission interim chair confirmed

Charles Counsell, the former CEO of The Pensions Regulator, has been named the Gambling Commission’s interim chair for a nine-month term.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed his appointment today, 18 December, after Marcus Boyle announced he would step down from the role in January.

Boyle became the regulator’s chair on a five-year term in September 2021 as he replaced Bill Moyes.

Counsell will take on the interim chairmanship from 1 February, having served as an senior independent director at the Gambling Commission since April 2024.

He originally joined the regulator as a commissioner in September 2023 as Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary at the time, confirmed seven new commissioners to the body.

Counsell also sits on the Gambling Commission’s remuneration committee alongside its chair Lloydette Bai-Marrow and Helen Phillips.

He will be remunerated at £55,000 per annum, with his nine-month term taking his salary to a pro-rata basis.

Counsell previously served as The Pensions Regulator CEO from April 2019 to March 2023, during which time he developed a new corporate strategy.

He also oversaw the first equality, diversity and inclusion strategy and a climate change model to drive change.

Prior to that role, Counsell was CEO of the Money Advice Service between June 2017 and December 2018.

He previously spent time at The Pensions Regulator as an executive director for automatic enrolment between July 2011 and May 2017.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport statement read: “Throughout his career, his roles have focused on setting up and delivering large change programmes requiring significant stakeholder relationship engagement: initially in the private sector and latterly in senior public sector appointments.”

Earlier this week, the Gambling Commission said it had stepped up its action against illegal online casinos that are using popular children’s game Roblox to entice users