The UK Gambling Commission has appointed Dr Anna van der Gaag CBE as the new chair for the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB), its expert advisors on the research, education and treatment required to reduce gambling-related harms.
Set to join the RGSB as a member with immediate effect, van der Gaag is to take on the new role to succeed Sir Christopher Kelly, whose own term as chair comes to an end in March of next year.
Kelly commented: “I am delighted to welcome Dr Anna van der Gaag as my successor. Anna’s strong background in research and regulation provides a solid foundation to provide authoritative advice on the next strategy and to achieve our aim – to reduce the impact of gambling-related harms, especially among the most vulnerable.”
An ex-chair of the Health and Care Professions Council, van der Gaag is also a non-executive director at Health Education England and the Kent Surrey and Sussex Academic Health Science Network.
Further experience comes in the form of a founding member of the Q Community, a quality improvement network led by the Health Foundation, whilst also being a visiting professor of Ethics and Regulation at the University of Surrey.
Commenting of the new role van der Gaag, awarded a CBE in 2015 for services to health and care, explained: “Gambling-related harms are increasingly recognised as a public health issue requiring robust collective action.
“I am thrilled by this opportunity to join a team with such a passionate commitment to understanding and reducing harms, and raising awareness of the personal and societal costs that can arise from gambling activities.”
Bill Moyes, Gambling Commission chair, added: “It is with pleasure that we announce Dr Anna van der Gaag as the new chair of RGSB. She brings with her a wealth of experience in health, social care and the prevention of harm that will be an asset in advising on how to implement the next National Strategy, which will launch in April 2019 and on which we will shortly be consulting.”
