Compliance Updates
Seven Commissioners Appointed to the UK Gambling Commission
The Secretary of State has appointed seven Commissioners to the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
Charles Counsell, Helen Dodds, Sheree Howard and Claudia Mortimore have been appointed for terms of five years. Lloydette Bai-Marrow, Helen Philips and David Rossington have been appointed for terms of four years.
Lloydette Bai-Marrow
Lloydette is an anti-corruption expert and economic crime lawyer. She is the Founding Partner of Parametric Global Consulting, an economic crime investigations consultancy.
Lloydette is the Chair of the Board of Spotlight on Corruption, a UK based anti-corruption charity, she sits on the Legal Panel for WhistleblowersUK and is a trustee for the Unite Foundation. She is a Member of the Conduct Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
Lloydette is a Senior Visiting Lecturer at the International Anti-Corruption Academy in Vienna, Austria. She is a Co-Founder and Director of the Black Women in Leadership Network (BWIL), a non-profit network committed to increasing the representation of black women in leadership and decision-making positions.
Charles Counsell OBE
Charles was Chief Executive Officer of The Pensions Regulator from April 2019 to March 2023. Prior to this he was CEO of the Money Advice Service and Executive Director of Automatic Enrolment at The Pensions Regulator.
As CEO of The Pensions Regulator, Charles developed the new corporate strategy to put the pension saver at the heart of the Regulator. He delivered their first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Climate Change strategies – both focused on driving change in the regulator and across the Pensions Sector.
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.
Helen Dodds OStJ
Helen Dodds is an international lawyer, consultant and board member. She is currently a board member of the Human Tissue Authority, a director and trustee of the St John’s Eye Hospital Group, a director of LegalUK, and an Honorary Senior Fellow of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. Prior to this, she was a board member of the London Court of International Arbitration.
She is a qualified (now non-practising) solicitor and in her executive career she was Global Head of Legal, Dispute Resolution at Standard Chartered Bank. She has a degree in Modern History from Oxford University.
Sheree Howard
Sheree has over 25 years’ experience in the UK financial services industry with knowledge of the process of regulation and a key focus on risk management, audit and controls. Sheree is currently the Executive Director of Risk and Compliance Oversight at the Financial Conduct Authority. She is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
Sheree has held roles in banking in areas of risk and compliance including Director of Advisory (Compliance), Commercial and Private Banking for the Royal Bank of Scotland; and Chief Risk Officer at Direct Line Group.
Sheree has been a Governor, including Chair, for more than 10 years of a maintained Special Needs School and has provided pro bono advice to a number of other charities.
Claudia Mortimore
Claudia has over 25 years’ experience of criminal law and regulation. She spent the first 10 years of her career working as a barrister then, after a career break to raise three children, prosecuted drugs, tax and money-laundering offences for the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and fraudulent trading offences for the Department for Business.
Since 2013 Claudia has worked in senior positions in the Enforcement Division of the Financial Reporting Council, the body which regulates accountants, auditors and actuaries in the public interest and which sets the UK Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes. Claudia has led major investigations into serious and complex audit and accountancy failures.
Claudia has a particular interest in Diversity and Inclusion, she has also played a key role in promoting the importance of mental health and well-being at the Financial Reporting Council.
Helen Phillips
Dr Helen Phillips is an experienced executive and non-executive, with a career spanning the public, private and not for profit sectors. Helen’s current non-executive appointments include Chair of NHS Professionals Ltd and Chair of the Chartered Insurance Institute. Helen is concluding a nine year term as Chair of Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
In 2015 she was appointed as a lay member of the Legal Services Board (LSB), she was appointed independent Chair in 2017, and served a six year term to 31 March 2023. She served as a non-executive director of Social Work England from 2018 to 2021. Helen has also held non-executive director roles in Higher Education and the schools sector. Previously Helen was Board Director of Yorkshire Water and Chair of Loop Customer Management Ltd, a Kelda Group subsidiary. Prior to that, her career as a regulator was as founding Chief Executive of Natural England and a Director of the Environment Agency.
Helen has a BSc in Zoology and a PhD in Environmental Science from University College Dublin. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Insurers.
David Rossington CB
David is a former senior civil servant. He has worked for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), including as Finance Director and acting Director General, and other Government departments including what is now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Since stopping full time work, he has been a member of the Advisory Committee on National Records and Archives and currently serves as its Deputy Chair. He is Treasurer and Deputy Chair of Stoll, a charity for veterans and Treasurer of Arts at the Old Fire Station, an Oxford community arts charity.
David holds a degree in History and French from Oxford, a Masters in Public Policy from the Kennedy School, Harvard University, and an economics MSc from Birkbeck College, London. David took an accountancy qualification while a civil servant, although is no longer in practice.
AB Svenska Spel
Spelinspektionen Launches Supervision of AB Svenska Spel’s Gaming Venues
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The Swedish Gambling Authority has launched supervision of AB Svenska Spel’s gaming venues. The supervision covers turnover and the placement of slot machines.
This is the latest step in Spelinspektionen’s push to keep Sweden’s gambling sector in check and make sure companies meet the standards laid out in the Swedish Gambling Act.
When the review is complete, Spelinspektionen will publish the results.
The post Spelinspektionen Launches Supervision of AB Svenska Spel’s Gaming Venues appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Compliance Updates
Turkish Football Federation Suspends 149 Referees and Assistants After Betting Probe
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The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has suspended 149 referees and assistant referees after an investigation found hundreds of professional match officials in the country had betting accounts.
Bans ranging from eight to 12 months, based on the severity of the act, have been imposed for involvement in betting activity, with investigations into three other officials still ongoing.
The full list of the penalised officials was published on the TFF website.
Last week, it was revealed a five-year probe had found 371 of 571 match officials have betting accounts, with 152 of those actively gambling.
While some had only bet once, 42 had bet on more than 1000 football matches – with one official found to have placed 18,227 bets.
Like players and coaches, match officials are forbidden from participating in betting activities by TFF disciplinary regulations, as well as those of world governing body Fifa and European governing body Uefa.
“There is a moral crisis in Turkish football. There is no such thing as structure. The fundamental problem at the core of Turkish football is an ethical one,” TFF president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu said.
“Ask any referee, if there is even one who has not received his pay, I will resign as federation president. In fact, we improved their salaries last year, and again this year.”
No further details of the cases or ongoing investigations were provided.
After the investigation’s findings were announced, a number of Turkey’s top clubs responded.
Besiktas said it “could mark a new beginning for clean football” while Trabzonspor called the development “an historic opportunity to rebuild justice in Turkish football”.
Fenerbahce president Sadettin Saran said: “This is both shocking and deeply saddening for Turkish football.
“But the fact that it is coming to light is a hopeful development.”
The post Turkish Football Federation Suspends 149 Referees and Assistants After Betting Probe appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Compliance Updates
UKGC Suspends Operating Licence of VGC Leeds Limited
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The UK Gambling Commission has suspended the operating licence of VGC Leeds Limited as it carries out a review under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005.
The review and consequent suspension follow concerns that activities may have been carried out contrary to the Act, not in accordance with conditions of their licence and that the Licensee may be unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities.
During a recent Compliance Assessment, VGC Leeds Limited are reasonably believed to have failed to maintain and implement effective anti-money laundering policies, procedures and controls, as required under the conditions of their licence.
In addition, serious concerns were identified regarding the adequacy of decision-making processes and the Licensee’s response to identified anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing risks, raising questions about the overall effectiveness of its governance and risk management arrangements.
These failings are considered significant and represent a serious threat to the licensing objectives, in particular keeping crime out of gambling.
“We have made it clear to the operator that during the suspension, we expect it to focus on treating consumers fairly and keeping them fully informed of any developments which impact them,” UKGC said.
The suspension takes place immediately.
The post UKGC Suspends Operating Licence of VGC Leeds Limited appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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