Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of (a) board members and (b) employees of the Gambling Commission have previous experience in the industries that they regulate.

The Commission does not collect data on previous employers of its current staff but ensures that staff are able to access specialist knowledge to make informed and evidence-based decisions. The Commission also has a Managing Conflicts of Interest Policy that explains how it identifies and manages conflicts.

Job specifications for Commissioners reflect the range of skills and experience required by the Board including customer protection and insight, law enforcement and data science and digital innovation. Biographies of the current board members are available on Gov.uk.

As part of the fair and open process to recruit board members, candidates are assessed on their experience in different sectors, their understanding of the Gambling Commission’s work and the importance of effective, independent, proportionate, and impartial regulation.