The UK’s Betting and Gaming Council has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer. Grainne Hurst joins the industry body from global betting brand Entain, where she had been group corporate affairs director.
The appointment will come as no surprise to some, who have been closely watching the restructuring of senior leadership at the organization in recent months.
The current CEO, Michael Dugher, is to become chair, taking the place of Brigid Simmonds OBE, who is set to step down from the role she’s held since 2019 on April 20 this year.
Hurst the clear choice for BGC
Hurst has a huge amount of experience in the industry, having held senior roles in both land-based and online sectors.
Hurst is perhaps best known for her work at Entain. Since joining the company in 2018, Hurst led a rebrand from GVC to Entain and strengthened relationships with government and the public sector alike.
Other leadership positions held by Hurst include head of public affairs at Ladbrokes Coral, and a year spent working directly with the UK government as a special advisor.
Hurst is a board member at the Entain Foundation, a first-of-its-kind non-profit created to promote safer and more responsible gambling. As part of her role, Hurst created and delivered global safer gambling strategy Changing for the Bettor, which went on to win a number of awards and accolades.
The Entain Foundation isn’t the only non-profit Hurst has been involved with in recent years. Passionate about levelling the playing field in an industry where women have historically been underrepresented, Hurst is also a board member at Global Gaming Women.
GGW’s international arm and expansion to the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand was carefully overseen by Hurst, and is widely regarded as being pivotal to achieving its vision of an inclusive future for the industry.
What to expect from Hurst’s appointment
The Betting and Gaming Council is committed to protecting customers and championing safer gambling. The appointment of Hurst as CEO is expected to bring a new focus on regulation in the industry - and the protection of players.
"I am delighted to be joining the BGC at such a crucial time for its members and the millions of customers they serve," Hurst said. "I am very grateful to Michael Dugher for everything he has done in establishing the BGC and I look forward to working closely with him to move it forward.
"My focus will always be on ensuring that we have a well regulated industry which protects customers and looks after their interests. The betting industry in the UK has world leading businesses and iconic brands and I will work hard to ensure they remain so. There is much to be done and I look forward to getting started.”
Delighted to be joining the @BetGameCouncil later this year as its new CEO, taking over from the existing and effective CEO @MichaelDugher who will move to be Chair. Proud to be representing the UK regulated sector as well as the customers, colleagues and communities we serve.
— Grainne Hurst (@GrainneHurst01) April 8, 2024
Dugher, the previous BGC CEO, said driving further progress on safer gambling will remain at the heart of what the BGC does.
"Grainne’s appointment is excellent news for BGC and our members. She won a very tough, external recruitment process and clearly demonstrated that she has not only mission critical knowledge and experience in the regulated industry - both online and in the land based sector - but also a strong vision for continued change and improvement at the BGC," Dugher said.
"Grainne’s wealth of experience, impressive leadership qualities, formidable campaigning skills and acumen will be essential in working with all of our members to take the BGC to the next level. She is someone who is rightly widely respected across the industry and, as I step back to become chair of the BGC, I am confident she will work well with our talented staff to make a decisive impact as our new CEO."
