The Gambling Commission (GC) has reported that VIP customers accounted for around 3% of GGY in a sample of 12 licensed operators, as per its latest review of high value customer (HVC) schemes.
The report was compiled using data requested from UK operators between November and December 2024, in addition to internal data from GC enforcement casework.
The regulator last requested such data from operators back in 2021. In 2020, changing to VIP schemes in the UK were introduced by the regulator to improve customer protections.
Only one operator in the sample shut down its VIP scheme as a result of the 2020 policy shift.
Per the report’s findings, there has been no significant change in the number of operators with a HVC or VIP scheme in 2024, with the figure standing at 60% compared to 55% in 2021.
The figure remains lower compared to 2020, when 67% of respondents operated some form of HVC or VIP programme.
The report highlighted that the number of cases reported to the GC whereby HVC or VIP schemes or inappropriate customer incentivisation was reported to be a potential factor had “decreased significantly since the policy change”.
Analysis of the complaint data gathered also found “no widespread consumer concerns about HVC schemes being reported”.
Respondents that reported GGY from HVC programmes was 10% or higher of total GGY were more likely to be land-based casino operators.
Larger operators generating GGY of more than £100m per year most commonly had HVC schemes accounting for less than 1% of their overall GGY.
Operators also shared they carried out independent checks and financial assessments for VIP customers, and such checks were carried out more frequently than they were for non-VIP players.
The majority of operators in the sample also “monitored additional markers of harm for HVC or VIP customers”, while checking for previous self-exclusions through various onboarding processes.
The GC wrote: “Overall, it is likely that the market for VIP or HVC schemes remains ‘depressed’ compared with the pre-policy situation.
“The one exception might be for non-remote casino operators, which has seen some growth in GGY and membership of schemes over time. The small sample however means we cannot be confident this is representative of all non-remote casino operators across the market.”
The GC’s head of evidence assurance and evaluation David Taylor claimed the data indicates that the regulator’s intervention into VIP programmes is having the desired effect.
He said: “While we remain mindful that this exercise is reasonably modest in scope, the findings indicate that the intended impact is being achieved.
“Limitations are detailed in the report and include details about the sample of operators and how this is intended to provide a relatively high-level overview of the policy’s effectiveness.
“It’s also worth noting that the impact of this policy is also influenced by other changes to regulatory requirements on topics such as customer interaction, for example.
“Although evaluation exercises like this will never be able to give total assurance, it does provide an indication that the regulatory objectives have been delivered and further changes are not currently required.
“Where operators fail to meet requirements, we will continue to take action.”
The post UK VIP programmes account for 3% of operator GGY, says regulator first appeared on EGR Intel.
Report released by the Gambling Commission also shows no uptake in High Value Customer schemes run by operators since the regulator’s intervention in 2021
The post UK VIP programmes account for 3% of operator GGY, says regulator first appeared on EGR Intel.