• UK gambling harms charity GambleAware has appointed Anna Hargrave as its new “transition CEO” to manage the organisation’s planned closure by March 2026.
• Hargrave, an internal promotion from Deputy CEO, will take over from the outgoing CEO, Zoë Osmond, on 30 September 2025.
• The leadership change reflects the charity’s new focus on “operational delivery” and a smooth handover of its functions to the new government-led statutory levy system.
• The closure of GambleAware is a direct result of the new levy, which replaces the voluntary industry funding model that has sustained the charity for years.
• Hargrave’s key task will be to ensure a seamless transition of research, prevention, and treatment services to the new statutory commissioners.

GambleAware, the charity that has for years been at the centre of Great Britain’s efforts to tackle gambling-related harm, has named a new chief executive to guide it through its final chapter. Anna Hargrave has been appointed as the organisation’s “transition CEO,” with the specific mandate of overseeing its managed closure and the transfer of its responsibilities to the new statutory system.

She will step into the role on 30 September, following the departure of the current CEO, Zoë Osmond. The charity is set to cease all its activities by the end of March 2026.

A Shift from Strategy to Operational Delivery

The charity has been clear that this leadership change reflects a fundamental shift in its mission. With its long-term future now decided, the organisation’s focus has moved away from “strategic oversight to operational delivery.” Hargrave’s primary role will be to ensure a smooth and orderly handover of all the services and functions that GambleAware has historically commissioned to the new government-appointed commissioners.

“Over the next several months we have some important delivery and legacy ambitions,” said Andy Boucher, GambleAware’s Chair of Trustees. “I am very confident that under Anna’s leadership we will achieve the positive ending for the charity we are all working towards.”

An Experienced Hand for a Critical Period

Hargrave is a well-respected figure within the organisation, having served as its Chief Commissioning and Strategy Officer and Deputy CEO since November 2021. Before joining the charity, she held numerous senior roles across the National Health Service (NHS), an experience that will be invaluable as the new system for tackling gambling harm becomes more closely integrated with public health bodies.

“The final six months are critical for the smooth transfer and transition to the new system,” Hargrave said. “I look forward to continuing to work with the new commissioners… to ensure their efforts build upon the current system’s achievements and insights.”

The End of the Voluntary Era

The closure of GambleAware is a direct and expected consequence of one of the key reforms from the UK’s Gambling Act White Paper: the replacement of the long-standing voluntary industry funding model with a mandatory statutory levy. With funding for research, prevention, and treatment ( RPT) now being collected and distributed by the state, the charity’s primary purpose has become obsolete.

Outgoing CEO Zoë Osmond, who has been with the charity for seven years, said it was a “huge privilege” to have led the organisation. “Few charities can truly say they’ve delivered on their founding mission,” she stated, “but GambleAware… played a pivotal role in reframing gambling harms as a public health issue and helped to shape the foundations of the new gambling harms prevention and treatment system.”