Boucher will join the GambleAware board and support the charity’s commissioning of best practice prevention, education, treatment and support services. GambleAware served the Great Britain gambling market.
Boucher is a retired senior professional services partner and chartered accountant, with a career spanning over 34 years.
He held a number of senior positions during his career, with the standout being as a partner of PwC. Boucher served in the role for more than 16 years, specialising in helping groups developing and implementing their tax strategy.
Boucher also spent time as EMEA tax manager at Accenture and European tax manager at Smith & Nephew.
Later in his career, Boucher has been engaged with social purpose actions in both a personal and professional capacity. These include social mobility, homelessness and homelessness prevention, and neurodiversity in the workplace.
“We’re delighted to welcome Andy to the board,” GambleAware Chair of trustees, Baroness Kate Lampard, said. “He has a range of skills and experience which will benefit us and help guide our direction through the upcoming years.
“We look forward to working alongside him and know he has an enormous amount to contribute to help ensure the best outcomes for people experiencing gambling harms.”
Lampard also serves on the GambleAware board alongside Saffron Cordery, Siân Griffiths, Michelle Highman, Rachel Pearce, Paul Simpson, Baroness Hilary Armstrong, Marina Gibbs, Mubin Haq, Koravangattu Valsraj, Mel Nebhrajani and Sir Alan Moses.
GambleAware report links problem gambling with discrimination
The appointment comes after GambleAware this month published new research linking problem gambling with discrimination. Carried out by Ipsos UK and ClearView Research, supported by the University of Manchester, the study focused on potential links between problem gambling and discrimination.
GambleAware said the core finding was the relationship between problem gambling and discrimination. Half of those from minority communities experiencing problem gambling were more likely to have been subjected to discrimination in public, compared to those who did not have a gambling issue.
Some respondents spoke of a link between experiencing of discrimination and susceptibility to gambling harms. This included racism and discrimination leading to exacerbated gambling behaviour, as well as feelings of social exclusion, reduced employment opportunities and heightened risk of mental health issues.
More help on the way from GambleAware
In other news, GambleAware is this month opening a new funding program. This will seek to address some of the issues flagged in similar research.
A separate study found gambling participation rate for minority groups was 31%. This was lower than that of white British people, of whom 48% participate in some form of gambling. However, 42% of gamblers from minority backgrounds suffered some form of gambling harm, compared to 20% of white British gamblers.
In response, GambleAware will make £4.3m (€5.0m/$5.5m) available to organisations in England, Scotland and Wales to help address such issues.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/people/people-moves/gambleaware-appoints-boucher-as-trustee/
