John Hagan Appointed as a New Chairman of the IGRG

John Hagan, the renowned gambling expert, has been announced the new chairman of the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling, an organization that comprises of 5 trade organisations from the sector: The British Amusement & Catering Trade Association (BACTA), Association of British Bookmakers, National Casino Forum (NCF), Bingo Association (BA) and Remote Gambling Association (RGA). The IGRG was founded in 2014 and aims to promote the licensing objectives of the Gambling Act from 2005.

Its 5 associations represent approximately 640 operators across the gambling industry and thus, their recent incorporation is a sure indicator of their commitment to work together and pursue common objectives. The CEOs of the five associations set a meeting and discussed different candidates who could take over the chairmanship from the outgoing chairman Barry Hardy. Mr Hardy, the non-executive director at Gala Coral, has been on this position since September 2015. He explained that finding the ‘perfect fit’ for the leading role was a really thoughtful process and that the CEOs were looking for a candidate with an extensive gambling knowledge to match the company high profile. They all unanimously agreed that John Hagan had the necessary qualities for the job and were really pleased by his acceptance of the position. In his turn John Hagan commented that he intends to keep up the good work of his predecessor and that continuity is an important aspect of the job. He added that Barry Hardy was a key factor behind the success of the IGRG and that he kept a high profile in the gambling sector.

More about John Hagan: On top of his gambling expertise, John Hagan is also a founding partner of the gaming law firm Harris Hagan which provides legal services and advice to all sectors of the UK gambling and leisure industry. The firm was established in 2004 and evolved to turn into a market leader. Multiple awards guarantee the quality of their services and their unprecedented expertise. The last one came in October 2013 when Harris Hagan was announced gaming law firm of the year by Legal 500. John is internationally recognised as a leading gaming lawyer which is popular both with industry experts and clients. He is a valued speaker at conferences, a writer of specialised articles and a member of many organisations such as the International Masters of Gambling Law. He is also an Officer of the International Association of Gaming Advisors and deputy chairman of GamCare. What you need to know about the Bingo Association (BA): A trade association of the licensed bingo operators and owners of bingo clubs, BA was established in 1998 by a merger of the British Bingo Operators’ Association and the Bingo Association of Great Britain. The main objective of the association is to assist its members by representing their interests to the Government, the regulatory bodies and other third parties, providing formal consultations, guidance and information to the members about various compliance issues. Currently, 62 companies are members of the BA and their size varies from single site operators to multi-site giants.