One of the very top-ranked gambling lawyers in the UK for many years, David now uses that expertise in providing specialist consultancy advice to all sectors of the gambling industry.

David has been one of the UK’s leading specialists in gambling licensing and regulatory law since the mid-1980s, advising clients in all sectors of the gambling industry (betting, gaming and lotteries) both remote and land-based, ranging from new start-ups to long-established and internationally known operators and suppliers, as well as industry trade associations.

Having been a partner in London law firm Joelson (formerly ‘Joelson Wilson’) for 30 years, in 2013 he co-founded a specialist gambling consultancy business, Clifton Davies Consultancy Limited.

A principal focus of David’s work has always involved assisting clients with licensing applications and advising on regulatory issues in relation to product development and marketing. More so now, David’s strategic and practical advice before, during and after compliance assessments, investigations and licence reviews by the regulator has become particularly valued. He is regularly called upon to project-manage improvements to clients’ AML, social responsibility, safer gambling and governance framework systems and controls. He has also been retained by large law firms (or directly by their clients) to provide transactional due diligence or business change management advice.

A long-standing member of the International Association of Gaming Advisors, David is a well-known speaker and moderator at gambling industry conferences in the UK and abroad and has built up good relationships with trusted gambling lawyers, consultants and regulators in numerous jurisdictions.

For many years, he specialised in advocacy work for clients in the licensing courts. In recent years, the tables have been turned in that he has been retained, and given evidence, as a gambling expert witness in a number of High Court and International Arbitration proceedings.