RSS Feed21 September 2026
The UK Gambling Commission has already tightened VIP rules and is still monitoring whether the 2020 reforms are working.
What triggered the reforms:
The Commission’s findings that VIP schemes could encourage gambling-related harm and create conflicts between compliance and commercial incentives triggered the 2020 reforms. The Commission’s consultation identified concern that high-value-customer (HVC) schemes could create a conflict between short-term commercial objectives and regulatory compliance.
What the 2020 rules require:
The 2020 rules require operators to assess affordability, check for evidence of gambling-related harm or heightened vulnerability, keep identity, occupation, and source-of-funds evidence up to date, and conduct ongoing gambling-harm checks before making a customer a VIP.
The new guidance also made a senior executive holding a Personal Management License (PML) accountable for overseeing each VIP scheme.
Evidence of impact:
The reported 90% reduction in VIP-scheme customers and the Commission’s continued monitoring work show 2020's reform's impact. In its monitoring, the Commission found an estimated 90% cut in HVC scheme membership by 2021 compared with pre-reform levels.
The government also stated that the Commission’s stricter VIP rules accounted for 90% of the reduction in the schemes.
Why stricter rules remain under discussion:
Despite the reform’s impact: consecutive concerns remain, including incentives for staff, commercial conflicts, handling self-excluded users, and information review frequency. In its monitoring, the Commission noted ongoing compliance concerns in areas.
Regulatory significance:
The Commission’s broader safer-gambling objective and its licensing requirements explain why the regulator is keeping a close watch on how operators implement the new VIP rules. If a licensee can’t provide effective due diligence, senior oversight, clear accountability, and a culture of responsibility, the regulator says they shouldn’t be running VIP schemes.