MERKUR Casino UK has appointed Dan Whitlam, a former executive at the Gambling Commission and GamCare, as head of compliance. He takes up the post on Sept. 28 and will report to chief financial officer Egemen Coskun.
The appointment gives Whitlam strategic leadership and independent oversight across regulatory compliance, safer gambling, player protection, anti-money-laundering controls, financial-crime prevention, data protection and governance. His remit spans the company’s high-street gaming centres, bingo and casino operations, and includes leading engagement with the Gambling Commission, local authorities and industry bodies.
According to G3 Newswire, the hire forms part of succession planning before chief operating officer Amanda Kiernan retires in April 2027. The company intends the timing to allow a structured handover and continuity in its compliance function.
Coskun said Whitlam brought knowledge of gaming regulation, regulatory risk, safer gambling and player protection, alongside experience of working with regulators and other stakeholders. He said the appointment reflected MERKUR Casino UK’s emphasis on compliance leadership, independent oversight, protecting vulnerable customers and applying regulatory requirements consistently across the business.
Whitlam said he planned to combine his experience at the Gambling Commission and GamCare with prior operational and player-protection work to help develop a compliance framework that is “robust, proportionate and practical”. He described an effective compliance function as one that understands operations, identifies risks early and helps a business find solutions while maintaining high standards of player protection.
Separately, the Gambling Commission fined Merkur Slots UK Limited £95,450 in February 2025 for social-responsibility failures at an adult gaming centre in Stockport. The regulator found that the operator did not interact with a customer who lost £1,981 across gambling sessions from Nov. 1 to 3, 2023, breaching rules requiring premises-based operators to identify and engage customers at risk of gambling-related harm.
The Commission’s chief executive, Andrew Rhodes, called it a clear case of an operator failing to follow consumer-safety rules, and said operators must ensure staff are trained to implement policies intended to prevent harm.
