Former Gambling Commission Policy Chief Tim Miller Launches GamReg Consulting to Advise Regulators on the Black Market

Tim Miller, a senior figure at the Gambling Commission for about a decade, has set up an advisory firm aimed at governments and regulators rather than operators, starting in North America. He says it will not be "just another compliance consultancy", and has already said what he thinks does not work: blanket prohibitions and ever-higher taxes.

• Tim Miller, the Gambling Commission's former executive director for policy and research, announced GamReg Consulting on LinkedIn on 23 September, according to iGaming Business
• The firm will advise governments and regulators on regulatory design and implementation, consumer protection and the illegal market, starting with partners in North America before broadening in 2027, according to next.io and iGaming Business
• Miller told next.io that his first clients are "all very much in that space of supporting regulators, supporting government", and that "this isn't going to be just another compliance consultancy"
• He has named "simplistic, blunt approaches like ever-increasing tax hikes or blanket prohibitions" as what regulators should avoid, according to iGaming Business
• He will give a keynote and chair a day at Regulating the Game 2027 in Sydney from 8 to 10 March, the event's organisers said, after publicly criticising Meta over illegal casino advertising while at the Commission

A Regulator's Adviser, Not an Operator's

Miller left the Gambling Commission at the end of June after about a decade, during which he helped lead the implementation of the government's gambling reform white paper in the United Kingdom. Announcing GamReg Consulting on Wednesday, he said, according to iGaming Business: "Regulators everywhere are dealing with fast-moving markets alongside heightened expectations. They need practical, credible approaches that keep players safe while supporting a compelling consumer offer." He argued for regulation that is "evidence-led, outcomes-focused and technology-driven", and said GamReg aims to help "turn that ambition into regulation that protects consumers, commands industry confidence and works in the real world".

The firm's initial projects are in North America, with partners there, and Miller told next.io he may work in the UK eventually but will build the practice internationally first. He said he vets clients to protect his neutrality and does not want to pursue "particular corners or particular agendas". One of his frustrations as a regulator, he said, was being approached by companies claiming to have "the latest technological solution", and part of the firm's pitch is to close the gap between what technology companies offer and what regulators can use. No clients were named in the reports.

A Record Built on Data and on the Illegal Market

According to the organisers of Regulating the Game, Miller led the creation of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain and the first National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms, sat on the board of the Gambling Regulators European Forum, contributed to model internet gaming legislation for the US National Council of Legislators from Gaming States, and is a member of the UK government's Illegal Gambling Task Force. At the Sydney event, at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, his keynote is titled "Turning tension to trust: reimagining the regulator/operator relationship". "The relationship between regulators and operators is too often adversarial, and both sides pay for it," he said in the organisers' announcement, describing the illegal market as "a common problem". He is also due to speak at G2E in Las Vegas, next.io reported.

At the Commission he was one of the regulator's sharpest voices on social media platforms. In January, at ICE in Barcelona, he accused Meta of allowing ads for casinos that market themselves as not on GamStop, the self-exclusion scheme. He told next.io that governments and regulators "are going to need to force them to act", and suggested a Clearcast-style pre-approval system for gambling ads on social platforms.

North America Is Where a Former UK Regulator's Experience Is Most Marketable

The choice of North America as the starting point is commercial logic. US states are still deciding whether and how to legalise online casino, and the rapid spread of prediction markets and sweepstakes-style products has left state regulators dealing with products their statutes did not anticipate. A regulator who helped implement financial risk checks, online slot stake limits and a national prevalence survey after a white paper, and has done so under intense political scrutiny, is selling implementation experience that few US state agencies have in-house. His work with the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States gives him an existing route into that market.

His Stated Positions Will Travel With Him

Many consultancies set up by former regulators sell mainly to operators; Miller is pitching to the other side of the table, and that makes his public views part of the product. His warning against "ever-increasing tax hikes or blanket prohibitions" lands in a week when the Treasury is reported to be weighing a doubling of Machine Games Duty and Brazil's government is reported to be preparing a measure against betting advertising. Governments hiring him will be buying a view that the illegal market is the common enemy and that heavy-handed rules feed it. That is a coherent position, and it is also one the licensed industry shares, which is why his insistence on client vetting and neutrality will be tested by who the clients turn out to be.

Miller has swapped enforcing one regime for advising others on building theirs. The first names on his client list will show whether the regulator-first model he describes holds.