A UKGC chief executive vacancy closes to applicants on 23 October 2026, with the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) offering around £190,000 a year for a permanent post, according to its recruitment microsite. Andrew Rhodes was due to leave on 30 April 2026, and Deputy Chief Executive Sarah Gardner has been acting chief executive since.
UKGC chief executive vacancy
The role is permanent and based in Birmingham, with staff expected in the office an average of two days a week, according to the terms of appointment. The chief executive is also expected to travel regularly to London and to make national and international trips as required.
The UKGC lists the salary as c.£190,000 per annum and an employer pension contribution of 28.97% under the Civil Service scheme. Recruitment firm GatenbySanderson is handling applications and will take up references on the preferred candidate at the final interview stage.
The interview panel is made up of Ruth Evans, Chair of the Gambling Commission; Emma Ward, Director General at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS); Commissioner Charles Counsell; Natasha Harris, Executive Director People Services; and one independent member. The UKGC says panel members may change.
What the role covers
The job description gives the chief executive three delivery priorities: implementing the Gambling Act Review, running the Illegal Markets programme, and overseeing regulation of the National Lottery. For the Illegal Markets programme, the post-holder must deliver a return on HM Treasury’s three-year investment from 2026-27.
The chief executive is also the Commission’s Accounting Officer. Candidates from the gambling industry must show they can act impartially and maintain public confidence, according to the person specification. Evans, writing in the recruitment welcome message, called the post “one of the most significant leadership roles in public regulation”.
Acting leadership
The UKGC announced Rhodes’s departure on 9 February 2026, saying he would leave on 30 April 2026 to take up a new role. It said Gardner would step up as Acting Chief Executive to cover the areas of work Rhodes was stepping back from.
The regulator’s Allwyn conference speech on 2 October 2026 was delivered by “acting chief executive Sarah Gardner”, the UKGC said.
TGE covered the regulator’s final market report in May 2026, and other UKGC stories are in the UKGC tag archive.
Applications close on 23 October 2026.
Source: UK Gambling Commission
