Andy Boucher, a retired senior professional services partner and chartered accountant with a distinguished 34-year career, is set to join the board of GambleAware, a charity dedicated to promoting responsible gambling practices in the Great Britain gambling market.
Boucher’s role will involve supporting the charity in commissioning best practice prevention, education, treatment, and support services.
Throughout his career, Boucher has held several senior positions, most notably as a partner at PwC for over 16 years, where he specialized in assisting groups in developing and implementing their tax strategies.
Additionally, he served as EMEA tax manager at Accenture and European tax manager at Smith & Nephew.
In the latter part of his career, Boucher became actively involved in social purpose initiatives both personally and professionally.
His commitments encompassed various causes, including social mobility, homelessness prevention, and promoting neurodiversity in the workplace.
Baroness Kate Lampard, Chair of trustees at GambleAware, expressed her enthusiasm for Boucher’s appointment, citing his valuable skills and experience that will guide the charity’s direction in the coming years.
She anticipates that his contributions will play a pivotal role in achieving better outcomes for individuals affected by gambling-related harm.
Lampard is not alone in her responsibilities on the GambleAware board; she serves 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 recently published research, conducted in collaboration with Ipsos UK, ClearView Research, and the University of Manchester, which shed light on the connection between problem gambling and discrimination.
The study revealed that individuals from minority communities experiencing problem gambling were more likely to have encountered discrimination in public settings.
Discrimination, such as racism, was found to exacerbate gambling behavior, leading to social exclusion, reduced employment opportunities, and an increased risk of mental health issues.
In response to these findings, GambleAware is launching a new funding program aimed at addressing the issues highlighted in the research.
The program, set to allocate £4.3 million to organizations in England, Scotland, and Wales, aims to tackle gambling-related harm in minority communities.
Despite a lower gambling participation rate among minority groups (31%) compared to white British individuals (48%), a higher percentage of gamblers from minority backgrounds (42%) suffered some form of gambling harm compared to their white British counterparts (20%).
In summary, Andy Boucher’s appointment to the GambleAware board is expected to bring valuable expertise to the charity’s mission of preventing and addressing gambling-related harm, particularly in the context of recent research highlighting the link between problem gambling and discrimination.