It’s taken almost three months for the Gambling Commission to appoint an interim chair of the Industry Forum, and even more given the early notice of Nick Rust’s premature announcement that he was standing down. Now, in comes existing Forum member and compliance specialist Kirsty Caldwell who takes over on an interim basis. Is this an opportunity for a dynamic change of direction for the Industry Forum?
The Gambling Commission has announced the appointment of Kirsty Caldwell as interim chair of the Industry Forum, while a successor is found for Nick Rust, who stepped down from the post in November.
Caldwell has served as a member on the board since March 2024, and brings an “extensive background in compliance” to the position as CEO of Betsmart Consulting, which she founded in 2019.
“I am delighted to be taking on this role,” said Caldwell. “I remain fully committed to building a healthy, respected gambling sector, and cooperation and communication between regulator and industry is key to achieving this.”
“We may not get it right every time, but the important thing is we learn from our mistakes, we keep talking and we keep moving forwards.”
The Industry Forum is intended to provide the Commission with insight into the views of industry about its regulatory plans and service, with Caldwell telling Coinslot at the time of her appointment as a board member that she hoped to ensure the forum speaks up for smaller operators, often underrepresented in regulatory engagement.
“I feel a lot of smaller operators and particularly those offering products which sit slightly outside the norm of standard licensing, are often underrepresented in industry discussions with the regulator.”
No date has yet been confirmed for the next meeting of the Industry Forum,
Time to turn words into action
Kirsty Caldwell’s appointment to Interim Chair of the Industry Forum is now an opportunity to turn those very words and aspirations into action. And it comes at a time when the Industry Forum is under increasing pressure to deliver – certainly not for its own inabilities or failings, but those of the Commission itself.
It has been argued widely within the industry that the Commission gives no weight or value to the Forum – and its engagement is considered a sop to the process.
The minutes from meetings are heavily redacted, Commission attendance is believed to be low level,and the premature exit of Nick Rust will be interpreted, although certainly not confirmed by the former chair, as a measure of the frustration of the group to break through the wall of indifference constructed by the Commission.
What Caldwell brings to the post, albeit in an interim role, is a fresh voice with a different approach – although heavily weighted towards compliance which is her field of expertise – and the primary objective of the regulator itself.
But the industry will want a far broader field of discourse through the Forum. It wants to talk growth, reducing debilitating regulation, a better and speedier response to complaints, real progress on technical standards, GC action on false data narratives – and it wants action on these issues with far greater speed and intensity than the Commission has previously given.
Now’s the time, one would imagine, for the shackles to be taken off the Forum – it has so much experience and expertise amongst the members.
So the first task Kirsty, should you wish to accept this mission, is to get the Industry Forum voice heard and respected by the Commission and, most importantly, acted on.
This message will not self-destruct in 5 seconds, because the fear most in the industry has, is that it’s been out there and ignored for nearly twenty years.
The mission is to turn the impossible into the achievable. And insodoing, it’s imperative that you never forget whose voice and interests you are representing.
Originally published on Coinslot on January 26, 2026. Republished with permission.