Gamstop names Beerling and Watts as non-executive directors

Gamstop has appointed Kevin Beerling and Dr Jo Watts as independent non-executive directors with immediate effect.

Beerling joins the UK-focused, industry-managed national online self-exclusion database having most recently served as group finance director of employment, skills, care and education-focused charity the Prospects Group.

In his new role with Gamstop, Beerling will take on a number of responsibilities, including governance support for legal services, risk management, human resources and the service's information and communications technology.

Watts joins the Gamstop board having spent much of the last 15 years working in customer analytics and risk management.

Currently overseeing the running of data science company Effini, Watts will use her industry knowledge to help the Gamstop scheme grow and develop.

Gamstop independent chair Jenny Watson has said the double appointment will support the organisation’s goals of broadening the scheme’s governance and also providing a trusted environment for stakeholders as it works towards becoming a UK licence condition.

“We are delighted that these two exceptional leaders in their fields have agreed to lend their expertise to this important project; I am very much looking forward to working with them in the future,” Watson said.

Both Beerling and Watts join Gamstop shortly after the scheme was subject to criticism for flaws within its identity verification processes.

In January, a BBC Radio 5 Live investigation highlighted a number of flaws in the system, namely the fact that a gambler who had self-excluded was able to bypass the process by simply changing their user details.

At the time, GamStop accepted such flaws are a concern and said it was working to improve the solution.

GamStop is free of charge for users and provides the option to self-exclude from online gaming activities for six months, one or five years. Having launched in April last year, more than 50,000 UK residents have since used the service to block access to gambling sites.