Michael Dugher has announced his departure from the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) with immediate effect, having taken a job with global consultancy firm the Brunswick Group.
When the BGC was formed in 2019, Brigid Simmonds became the first Chair, with Dugher employed as the association’s first CEO.
At the start of 2024, Simmonds stepped down and a seamless transition saw Dugher take up the vacated post.
As Chair, he went on to oversee the BGC’s lobbying efforts in the aftermath of the 2023 Gambling White Paper and more recently, the debate around tax reform in the Autumn Budget.
He has recorded his pride in having led the trade body through these pressures, saying: “Working with outstanding colleagues and members, we brought the industry together, embraced higher standards in safer gambling and championed an industry that employs tens of thousands of talented, hardworking, decent men and women in communities across almost every part of the UK.”
The result of the Autumn Budget was a significant gambling tax hike, something that the BGC campaigned vigorously against.
On the subject of the White Paper, Dugher acknowledged the challenges it wrought, while pointing out that many of the most ‘draconian and disproportionate’ measures were avoided.
Given those challenging market circumstances he is referring to, he saw fit to leave a note of caution in his parting statement, saying: “We made the case for an evidence-led approach to regulation and legislation that raised standards, protected jobs and growth as much as possible, and delivered historic deregulation and investment for Britain’s world-leading casino sector – all while keeping customers safe in the regulated industry. This approach is increasingly at risk today given the very worrying growth in harmful gambling in the unregulated online black market.”
His replacement as CEO was Grainne Hurst, who has thanked Dugher for his six years of service to the industry.
She recognised his achievements and praised the fruits of his tenure, saying: "His leadership was also pivotal in securing long-overdue casino modernisation and proportionate regulation.”
The departure of Dugher’s predecessor came with succession planning baked in, with Simmonds continuing to serve in the role for four months after the announcement of her leaving.
The tenor of Dugher’s exit suggests it was less anticipated, and so far there has been no word of his successor.
With the Brunswick Group, Dugher will become Head of UK Public Affairs Practice, while the statement from the BGC confirms that he will continue in his other roles as a freelance business adviser and a member of the Nottingham Forest Board of Directors.
Dugher was once a special adviser to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown
