BGC appoints Joff Cooke as first COO

The Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) has strengthened its executive leadership team by confirming the appointment of Joff Cooke as its first Chief Operations Officer (COO).

A figurehead in leadership of multi-million-pound educational organisations, programmes and resources, Cooke joins the BGC’s executive team from the University of Exeter Student Guild, where he formerly served as CEO (2017-2020).

Cooke has led fundraising programmes and management of trustees, having also served as the General Manager of Plymouth University and as Regional Director for the UK’s National Union of Students. 

As COO, Cooke will be tasked with leading BGC operations, support services and educational programmes as the unified industry body moves to improve standards and champion the sector’s workforce and good causes.

The appointment comes as the standards association continues to expand its industry remit and representation, having recently taken over the duties of the disbanded Senet Group.

The BGC formally launched last August, replacing the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) and Association of British Bookmakers (ABB). Serving as a ‘unified voice for UK gambling’, the BGC instantly sanctioned an ambitious action programme to improve the industry’s standards, reputation and stakeholder relationships. 

This March, the BGC sanctioned its first key pledge commitment, in which members would increase and expand requirements related to safer gambling and consumer protections.

Member pledges included expanding safer gambling messaging, increasing the active promotion of deposit limits and safer gambling tools, reporting rogue advertising and expanding welfare checks on customers.