Ruth Evans takes over as chair of the UK Gambling Commission on Wednesday 30 September, beginning a five-year term that lands on the same day new deposit-limit rules take effect for licensed online casinos. The timing is coincidental: the rule change was scheduled well before Evans’ appointment, and existing reforms continue on the timelines the Commission had already set.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy appointed Evans, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announcing the decision on 7 September. The role carries a salary of £85,000 per year and an expected commitment of two days per week.
First Permanent Chair in Over 20 Months
Evans replaces Charles Counsell OBE, who has served as interim chair since Marcus Boyle left the position in January 2025. Her arrival gives the Commission its first permanent chair in more than 20 months, ending an extended stretch of interim leadership at the top of the board.
She joins a regulator already reshaping its senior ranks. Former Chief Executive Andrew Rhodes announced his departure earlier in 2026, while Executive Director of Policy and Research Tim Miller is leaving in September after ten years at the Commission. Alongside those changes, the Commission is developing a new strategy, continuing its work against illegal gambling, advancing other regulatory proposals and completing outstanding elements of the Gambling Act Review.
Gross Deposit Limits Arrive the Same Day
From 30 September, remote gambling operators must offer customers a gross deposit limit – a cap on total deposits made during a set period, calculated without subtracting withdrawals. These limits must carry at least equal prominence to any other financial limits an operator offers.
Once a customer reaches their limit, further deposits are blocked until the period resets or the customer raises the limit, with any increase subject to a standard 24-hour cooling-off period. The requirement applies across all licensed UK online casinos and was originally due to start on 30 June before operators were given a further three months for technical preparation.
Financial Risk Assessments Roll Out in Stages
Separately, the Commission’s staged rollout of financial risk assessments was already underway before Evans’ appointment. Stage 1 triggers checks above £5,000 in deposits within 24 hours for customers aged 25 or older, and above £2,500 for those under 25; the Commission says fewer than 0.5% of customers exceed the higher threshold.
Planned eventual thresholds are considerably lower – above £1,000 in 24 hours or £3,000 over 90 days for customers 25 and older, falling to £750 and £2,000 for under-25s. The same requirements apply to established brands and to any new online casino licensed by the Commission, and a change of chair does not reset any operator’s existing obligations.
A Consumer-Protection Background, No Stated Agenda
Evans does not come from a gambling-industry background. Her career spans more than 40 years in consumer protection, financial oversight and regulation, including chairing the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and holding roles with the Serious Fraud Office, the National Audit Office and the Ofcom Consumer Panel. She currently chairs Stop Scams UK.
That history points to where Evans has worked, not necessarily to what she intends to do at the Commission. She has not announced a personal agenda for casino regulation, and her first weeks in the role will run alongside deposit-limit implementation, the staged financial risk assessment programme and the wider leadership turnover already reshaping the regulator’s senior team. Any shift in direction under the new chair, if it comes, will surface in decisions made once the board settles into its work – not on day one.
When he is not analysing the latest compliance updates or dissecting quarterly operator results, Florian follows Bundesliga football closely and maintains a healthy skepticism toward anyone claiming to have cracked a winning betting system. He brings a grounded, insider-aware perspective to his writing and is always more interested in the structural story behind the headline than the headline itself.