UK: Bacta names industry veteran John Bollom as VP until March 2023

The British Amusement Catering Trade Association (Bacta) announced Tuesday it has appointed John Bollom as its new Vice President until March 2023. The trade body's new VP succeeds Trevor Sutton, who announced he would be stepping down from Bacta at the organization's most recent National Council.

Bollom is an entertainment industry veteran who serves as Managing Director at Swansea-based Mumbles Pier. He is currently heading a review into Bacta's governance structure, and will serve out the remainder of Sutton's term until March 2023, when the body will elect a President and Vice President. 

Greg Wood, President of Bacta, said: "I am sad to see Trevor step down as Vice President, but I would like to pay tribute to his hard work and dedication over the past 18 months and wish him all the best in the future. At the same time, I would like to congratulate John, who brings decades of experience with him to the role of Vice-President." 

Sutton stated: "John's appointment will represent a real opportunity to see through the fruits of his labour regarding the Governance Review and reaffirm Bacta as best in class in our wonderful industry. I remain committed to help in any way that I can and will remain a key supporter of Bacta and its passionate members."

Bollom commented: "I am honoured to be appointed as Vice-President at Bacta at this critical time for the industry. We are still yet to see the government's Gambling Review White Paper and many of our members are dealing with a cost-of-living crisis. I will continue to head the review into Bacta's governance structure and work closely with John White as CEO and Greg as President of Bacta."

The Government’s much-expected gambling White Paper has faced a series of delays, most recently for the fourth time following UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation. While the review was initially expected for this month, advisers to the PM are believed to have concluded it could not go ahead until a new leader of the Conservative party was elected to replace Johnson. 

Last week, Bacta issued a letter signed by CEO John White to congratulate Damian Collins on his new role as Gambling Minister, and inviting him to meet ahead of the Gambling Act Review. The trade body voiced concerns about the White Paper potentially not supporting Bacta's request to allow debit card transactions for gaming machines in venues.