Roger Devlin appointed as Chair of the Horserace Betting Levy Board

The Secretary of State has appointed Roger Devlin as Chair of the Horserace Betting Levy Board for a term of four years from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2029.

Roger Devlin

Roger Devlin is currently Chair of Persimmon, the FTSE housebuilder as well as a Director of the Sutton Trust, the leading social mobility charity.

Previous non-executive roles have included Senior Independent Director of the Football Association and Chair of Marstons. He also chaired Sunningdale and served on the board of the R&A. In an executive capacity Roger was a director of merchant bankers Hill Samuel (1978-1993) and Hilton International (1994-2008).

In roles linked to horseracing he was Chair of William Hill until its sale to Caesars in 2022; Chair of Gamesys the fast growing online gaming company; and Chair of SiS, the media rights business. Roger owns horses in training with Anthony Honeyball and William Muir. He was co-owner and bred Pyledriver, the winner of the King George and Coronation Cup.

Remuneration and Governance Code

The Chair of the Horserace Betting Levy Board is remunerated £39,600 per annum. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office's Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Roger Devlin has not declared any significant political activity.