UKGC on the hunt for new commissioners as former DCMS civil servant is selected  

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DMCS) secretary of state Lucy Frazer has appointed long-term DCMS senior civil servant David Rossington as an interim commissioner at the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).

Rossington will join the UK regulator on a nine-month term having served as an advisor to the body since January 2018.

He is also an independent member of the National Lottery Competition Committee.

Rossington previously spent more than four years at DCMS as a finance director and director of office for civil society.

The University of Oxford alumnus also spent more than six years in the Department for Communities and Local Government during his career in Whitehall.

Rossington’s appointment comes as the UKGC is looking to appoint six new commissioners.

A standard term for a commissioner at the regulator is five years, with individuals allowed to serve up to two terms.

The UKGC currently has six commissioners plus a chair in place, but several of these commissioners are due to end their terms over the next 24 months.

Of the current group, Rossington will depart in October 2023, while the chair Marcus Boyle is still in his first term.

The remaining five commissioners have had their terms extended, due in part to the pandemic and the extended National Lottery competition.

One commissioner is due to depart in July 2023, one in December 2023, two in April 2024 and one in November 2024.

Those commissioners are Catharine Seddon, Carol Brady, John Baillie, Stephen Cohen and Trevor Pearce.

Speaking to EGR, a UKGC spokesperson said: “The six commissioners we’re seeking to appoint now are part of succession planning for the commission board.

“Over the next 18 months it’s envisaged that the size and composition of the board will evolve as commissioners leave on a staggered basis and we have a cohort of new board members who’ll work alongside them in that transition.”