Former Evoke Director Signs up for Player Safety Project at Mindway AI

Player protection software supplier Mindway AI has appointed former Evoke Director of Player Safety Will Mace as Head of Strategic Initiatives, as part of a research-led initiative looking into the gambling industry’s interactions with customers.

Mace joins Mindway AI with a strong gambling industry background, particularly in the areas of player safety and responsible gambling. After a career in the British Army, Mace worked in banking for Barclays, before joining operator Kindred Group as Innovation Lead in 2014.

Mace was promoted to Head of Kindred Futures in 2016, and in 2019, he became CEO of EQ-Connect, a consultancy which provides risk scores for potential problem gamblers.

During his time at EQ-Connect, which he left in 2024, Mace also made the move to William Hill and 888 owner Evoke in 2022 to become Director of Player Safety; a role which he left in June 2025.

Mace has also had roles with GamProtect, which helps operators identify vulnerable players, gambling harms charity the Beacon Counselling Trust, the Armed Forces Gambling Support Network, and the Gambling Commission Financial Risk Working Group.

What the new role consists of

In his new role with Mindway AI, Mace will play a key role in an effort to establish an evidence-led framework for effective player interactions.

This will include identifying the right moment to intervene when players are showing signs of problem gambling and selecting the most appropriate interaction approach.

Mindway AI will also try to develop effective messaging, and will aim to create a framework to measure the impact of interventions against specific risk indicators. Another aim of the project will be to look into interactions examining why people gamble and how to change how they gamble, guiding them towards safer behaviours before integrating the insights into actionability.

Mindway AI is known within the industry for its GameScanner software, which combines artificial intelligence, neuroscience and human expert assessment to identify problem gambling behaviours. Commenting on his new role with Mindway AI, Mace said:

“I have long admired the team at Mindway AI and am very excited to start working with them on this fascinating and important initiative.”

Rasmus Kjaergaard, Mindway AI CEO, said:

“Identifying harm is a technical triumph we have mastered with GameScanner, but identification is only as good as the interactions and intervention that follows. Operators are crying out for a scientific, measurable way to interact with players effectively.

"Will Mace’s phenomenal track record across major operators, regulatory working groups, and clinical support networks give us the perfect blend of insight to build a full-service safer gambling ecosystem.”

Problem gambling rate rising in GB

In Great Britain specifically, research from the Gambling Commission showed the problem gambling rate rose to 2.7% for 2024. The number was published as part of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB).

The 2024 GSGB survey was the second of its kind to be published. Those two surveys have indicated problem gambling rates have been significantly higher than the data was showing in previous surveys published by the Commission.

The Commission previously announced that in the year to December 2022, a total of 0.2% of respondents classed as problem gamblers.

The data from 2022 was based on the Commission’s quarterly telephone survey, which has since been replaced by the GSGB. In the quarterly telephone survey, problem gamblers were classed as anyone who scored four or more on the PGSI scale, but it was still the most at-risk group.