MPs Press Gambling Commission Over Allwyn Interim CEO Appointment

Two senior MPs have written to the Gambling Commission to raise concerns about Allwyn’s choice of Phil Walker as interim chief executive of the UK National Lottery, citing a personal sanction the regulator imposed on him in 2024 and a boardroom role he holds in the 24-hour slot-machine sector.

Labour’s Dawn Butler and Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith told the regulator they were “deeply concerned” by the appointment, in a letter seen by The Guardian. Both have been prominent in campaigns for tighter gambling controls.

Allwyn, which holds the licence to run the National Lottery until 2034, announced on August 19, 2026 that Walker would replace Andria Vidler as interim CEO, with effect from September 7, 2026. Walker spent six years at William Hill, where he rose to UK and Ireland managing director before the business was absorbed into 888, since rebranded as evoke.

The MPs’ letter puts two specific items from Walker’s record before the regulator. The first is a personal sanction the Gambling Commission imposed on him in 2024 over what it called “widespread and alarming” failures to enforce anti-money-laundering and terrorist-financing controls at William Hill. The operator itself was fined a record £19.2m the previous year. The second is a non-executive directorship Walker holds with Game Nation, the UK’s third-largest chain of adult gaming centres — high-street venues packed with slot machines and, in most cases, open around the clock.

What the MPs Asked the Regulator

The pair are seeking clarity on whether Walker’s work for City Gaming, which owns Game Nation, is “compatible” with the decision to select him to run the lottery. On his William Hill tenure, they asked the regulator to explain what consideration, if any, was given to that history when assessing his suitability.

The framing matters because of how the National Lottery is regulated. It sits apart from the rest of the gambling sector, run under a 10-year licence from the Gambling Commission and mandated to channel billions of pounds to good causes. The MPs invoked the lottery’s “unique position” in public life to argue that the bar for its steward should be higher than for a conventional operator. Allwyn, ultimately owned by the Czech billionaire Karel Komárek, has noted that Walker did not lose his personal licence from the Gambling Commission over the 2024 sanction, indicating the regulator still considers him fit and proper to hold a senior role in the sector.

The Gambling Commission declined to be drawn on the substance. “We would not publicly comment on an operator’s personnel decisions,” a spokesperson said.

The Slot-Farm Problem

Walker joined City Gaming last year, saying at the time he was excited to “develop and grow” the company. That enthusiasm now sits awkwardly against the political direction of travel. Adult gaming centres have become a focal point for gambling-reform campaigners, who dub them “slot farms” for their dense concentration of machines. Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, has accused the sector of “targeting some of the most vulnerable in our communities” and this month set out plans to tighten the permissive licensing regime that has allowed it to expand. Butler was instrumental in pressing that crackdown.

Game Nation moved to blunt the conflict before it hardened. The company said Walker would “step back” from his role with effect from September 1, 2026, for the duration of his interim contract with the National Lottery. Companies House filings indicate Walker is likely to have earned more than £50,000 from the directorship, a role that typically involves attending a small number of board meetings each year.

Jackie Olden, a campaigner whose terminally ill mother lost thousands of pounds to Merkur, the sector’s second-largest operator, questioned Walker’s suitability to run a lottery played regularly by around 20 million people. “It’s awful that someone heavily involved with 24-hour slot farms that destroy families and communities can run the country’s biggest public sector contract,” she said.

How Allwyn Defends the Appointment

Allwyn is standing by the hire. “As we navigate an increasingly competitive environment, Phil Walker brings valuable operational, digital and marketing experience alongside a significant understanding of our operating landscape,” a spokesperson said. “His appointment will help deliver the next stage of growth and innovation of the national lottery.”

In its own announcement, Allwyn pointed to Walker’s record at William Hill, where it said he delivered market-share, revenue and profit growth across both digital and retail channels, as the skill set it wants applied to the lottery’s next phase. Vidler remains in an advisory capacity through the end of October 2026 while the board conducts a search for a permanent successor.

Walker said he was “excited and proud” to take up the role, describing the lottery as “a vital national institution.” The interim nature of the appointment is central to the regulator’s position: Walker is a placeholder while a permanent chief executive is found, and the Gambling Commission’s public silence suggests it is content to let that process run rather than intervene in a staffing decision it regards as Allwyn’s own.

What Happens Next

Walker is due to take up the interim post on September 7, 2026, six days after stepping back from Game Nation. The Gambling Commission has given no indication it will act on the MPs’ letter, and its statement that it does not comment on operators’ personnel decisions signals it is unlikely to revisit the suitability question publicly. Whether Butler and Duncan Smith press the point further — for instance through a parliamentary question — will determine if the issue outlasts the appointment’s first weeks.