British Gambling Commission names Kirsty Caldwell as interim chair for Industry Forum
Caldwell will step in to replace Nick Rust at the helm of the Gambling Commission’s link with the industry.
UK.- The British Gambling Commission’s Industry Forum has a new interim chair after Nick Rust, the former chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), stepped down in November. He served in the position for two years.
Kirsty Caldwell, founder of the BetSmart Consultancy, has stepped into the role on a temporary basis. Already a member of the forum, she has sat on the 10-member group since March 2024.
Rust was the first chair of the forum, which was launched in 2023 as a mechanism for the regulator to hear operators’ views. It was created after the commission’s introduction of its Lived Experience Advisory Panel and Advisory Board for Safer Gambling and also facilitates connections with customer insight companies.
The other founding members include Tony Boulton, the director of public affairs at MERKUR UK, Charles Cohen, the CEO and founder of DoTrust Compliance, Ashley Padgett, the director of compliance at Flutter UK and Ireland, Mark Pearson, media director at Betfred and Nigel Roddis, managing director at Britbet.
The other three members are Leo Walker, customer operations director at Entain Helen Walton, founder and chief commercial officer at G.Games, and David Williams, director of public affairs at Rank Group.
Caldwell began her career at William Hill. She worked as a customer service advisor from December 2003 and December 2008 and later worked in roles including head of compliance for online. After that, she was vice president of compliance at Addison Global, the company that runs MoPlay.
Kirsty holds degree and post graduate degree level qualifications in governance, risk and compliance, and a degree qualification in anti-money laundering with the International Compliance Association.
“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.”
The Gambling Commission said Caldwell will serve in the role while it seeks a “substantive” chair.
