GamCare seeks new CEO as Hemmings ends transformative tenure

GamCare CEO Anna Hemmings has stepped down from her leadership position at the gambling treatment support network after a five-year tenure.

Hemmings guided the charity’s strategy and direction through several transformative years for UK gambling and the expansion of its treatment support network and resources. 

Her tenure included guiding the organisation through the COVID-19 pandemic, and the two-year duration of the Gambling Act review.

In a statement, GamCare praised Hemmings’ contribution to traditional treatment methods, the adoption of digital channels, such as the MyGamCare platform. The group has also worked towards diversification of its education and support services and adoption of a heavier emphasis on lived experience.

GamCare explained that Hemmings feels that ‘the time is right to move on’, adding that its Board of Directors thanked the outgoing CEO for her five-years of service.

Hemmings remarked: “It has been an enormous privilege to work in this fantastic charity over the last few years. In that time, GamCare has changed in so many positive ways that mean that tens of thousands more people who need support are reached than five years ago.

“However, I feel the time is now right for me to move on and explore pastures new and I can be confident that I’m leaving the organisation well-equipped for a successful future. 

“I’m very proud of both the services and the staff and culture at GamCare, and I would like to thank all my amazing colleagues and the phenomenal network of stakeholders for their dedication and support during my time as CEO.”

A graduate of the University of Brighton with a BA in Social Policy and the University of London with a MA in Addictive Behaviour, Hemmings also played a key role in securing new funding agreements for GamCare.

This, the charity emphasised, has contributed greatly to the extension of GamCare’s reach to ‘make a far greater impact than ever before’. 

Notably recent developments include the securing of three-years of funding to support the group’s operations as part of GambleAware’s National Gambling Support Network (NGSN)

Further directives saw Hemmings lead the expansion of problem gambling treatment support services across community networks, professional services and the HM PrisonService – urging stakeholders to treat gambling addiction as a psychological disorder. 

As the search for a new CEO commences, Margot Daly, GamCare’s Chair of Trustees, will take on an executive role until a permanent replacement for Hemmings is found.

Daly remarked: “Anna has led the charity with great thought ​and has been a true champion of those with gambling issues. She leaves GamCare in a stronger position and has ensured that more people than ever before have been​, and can now be,​ helped. 

“Her innovative approach to providing support in the way that people want and need has seen the utilisation of traditional channels and also development of new ​digital services that have​ – essentially and firmly ​put GamCare on the map. 

“On behalf of the charity’s board, I would like to thank Anna most sincerely for everything she has achieved to bring GamCare to this point.”

Praising her leadership of GamCare, Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), Chair, Brigid Simmonds, thanked Hemmings for her ‘excellent work and stewardship’. 

“Her extensive experience of change management was central to GamCare’s expansion of its excellent services beyond the helpline to setting up treatment services across the UK,” Simmonds commented.

“Everyone at the BGC wants to thank Anna for her hard work and dedication and we all wish her the very best for her future endeavours.”