The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) announced that its Chief Executive Paul Foster has stepped down. The role will now be replaced with the position of “Secretary General,” which will be assumed by Nicholas Macias, who was the former Chief Operations Officer at the GBGA. He will now return to the organization to take up this new role.
Nigel Birrell, GBGA Chairman, said: “We would like to say thank you to Paul for all his hard work over the past five years and the best of luck with his future endeavors. Nicky is a veteran of our industry in Gibraltar and has held senior compliance positions since 2014 and is well known to all of you. We wish Nicky the very best of luck in this new position and look forward to working with him over the coming years.”
Macias has not only played a key role in the GBGA but was also Gibraltar’s first gambling regulator, a title he held from 2006 to 2014. Macias also served as the compliance officer for NetEnt, the head of compliance for Lottoland, and as director of compliance for William Hill.
Nigel Birrell, GBGA Chairman
According to the announcement, Foster, who served in the position for over five years, has stepped down in order to spend more time on other business ventures. Alongside his role with the GBGA, Foster is currently chief executive of Crucial Compliance, having founded the consultancy in July 2019.
Additionally, Foster is also the Chief Compliance Officer of Ultimate Platform Technology, another company that he founded. Furthermore, Foster serves as a Director of Combined Solutions Group, a business he launched in March 2021.
The Association also announced that Merel Swarts will also leave her position as the Coordinator at the GBGA. She served in the role since December 2021 and is also part of the team at Crucial Compliance.
Moreover, Angela Almeida and Bua Malamalatabua from The Dream Team, who have been helping the GBGA with website and social media management and engagement, will take on expanded roles and carry out additional administration and operations duties at the GBGA.
“We look forward to evolving our strategy over the coming months, starting with supporting you with understanding and adapting to the new Gambling Act in Gibraltar and its resultant revised licensing regime, as well as revised and/or new codes of practice,” Birrell concluded.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2023/06/14/67525-gbga-chief-executive-paul-foster-steps-down-nicholas-macias-assumes-as-secretary-general
