A.J. Koehn

Duncan Garvie, Founder of gambling harm tool BetBlocker, has welcomed Monica Shafaq as the new Director of Strategy and Partnerships.

Shafaq carries a comprehensive career experience when it comes to problem gambling, having previously held the Chief Executive Officer position at Gordon Moody, a prominent UK charity specialising in gambling harm treatment.

She’s also a mental health expert, having carried the Chief Executive Officer title for 13 years at mental health and wellbeing organisation the Kaleidoscope Plus Group. Besides that, she’s quite versed in the UK sports scene, particularly football, evidenced in her past work with numerous football charities.

At BetBlocker, which was set up by Garvie with the purpose of aiding bettors who have a problematic gambling behaviour, Shafaq will certainly be a valuable asset in rebuilding their lives back up.

Garvie added: “I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Monica over the last few years, and have found her to be a principled an..

Gordon Moody has revamped its leadership team amid a significant change for the UK gambling harm treatment sector, with the new systems in Wales condemned as “unable to meet the needs” of those using it.

One of the UK’s leading specialist gambling harm treatment support organisations , Gordon Moody received £4.5m funding from the Office of Health Improvement and Disparity (OHID) under the new statutory levy framework, implemented as a key measure of the Gambling Act review.

The statutory levy sees licensed UK gambling companies make mandatory yearly payments to support research, education and treatment (RET) services. Prior to this, funding was paid voluntarily to GambleAware, which distributed it to organisations like Gordon Moody.

With GambleAware’s doors now closed (as of March) and the new framework being adopted across Great Britain, Gordon Moody has appointed a new board of trustees as it heads into the new era of gambling harm treatment.

Claire Arnold, who has been a member..

British betting companies have been given more time to get their houses in order around deposit limits, with the deadline to implement new policies pushed back by three months.

The Gambling Commission’s latest announcement comes amid a fiery conversation around gambling affordability in the UK, with the regulator still yet to make a decision around when or whether to introduce Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs).

The regulator has stated this week that implementation day for a new set of deposit limit requirements announced last October had been moved from 30 June 2026 to 30 September 2026.

From this date, only gross deposit limits can be offered over fixed time frames. Rolling and fixed time frames can be used for other limit types.

Operators have been set three tasks from 30 September:

Offer gross deposit limits to their customers and re-introduce gross deposit limits to customers’ available options

Ensure gross deposit limits are called deposit limits and make sure that only the..

GamCare has appointed Chris Thornton as its new Director of Operations, strengthening its executive leadership at a time of rising demand for gambling harm support services across the UK.

Thornton will take responsibility for the delivery and performance of GamCare’s national and regional services, including the National Gambling Helpline, and will join the organisation’s Executive Leadership Team.

He brings extensive senior leadership experience across the NHS, the voluntary sector and health commissioning.

Most recently, he served at the British Red Cross, where he was Director for the North of England and the Isle of Man.

In that role, he led large-scale health and care operations spanning NHS and local authority commissioned services, with a focus on reducing pressure on emergency care systems and supporting independent living.

During his time at the British Red Cross, Thornton oversaw around 100 staff and £3m annual income, delivering measurable reductions in emergency depa..

The Gambling Commission has confirmed to SBC News that a decision on whether to press ahead with Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) has not been made.

A meeting was held today (21 May), during which the regulator considered the next steps on rolling out FRAs – the more extensive of the two levels of affordability solution proposed in the Gambling Act review White Paper.

Ahead of the meeting, a plethora of last minute lobbying took place as some industry stakeholders and policymakers effectively viewed 21 May as something of a ‘deadline day’ – one in which FRAs would be confirmed and a plan for implementation announced.

But punters and operators alike will have to wait to find out what conclusion the Gambling Commission has come to as the board “has not yet fully completed its assessment” of the “extensive evidence” provided.

Gambling Commission considering next steps

“The Gambling Commission Board met to consider next steps on Financial Risk Assessments,” a spokesperson for the reg..