UK Gambling commission considering a ban on VIP

Published on 01/09/2020 09:59:02

Some years ago not many UK licensed gambling operators took the UKGC seriously. In the last 2 years however we have experienced a huge dynamics in the gambling regulations, where many of them hit the market significantly. The most painful was the stake limit of FOBT going from £100 down to £2, causing significant job cuts and betting shops closure. Other ones like excluding credit card payments, free to play casino games without age verification or deep identity check summed up had also some impact. UKGC made it clear, the easy times are over and we learned the process of  regulation is being applied in 2 steps.

Step number one: UKGC starts a discussion with operators about a topic like free to play games, FOBT limits, CC use etc.

Step number two: Weeks later the regulation or ban is being applied, no matter what the operators say.

Not only that. Huge fines have been given to William Hill, one mega penalty to 888 casino and smaller ones many others. But that seems to be not enough. As the numbers of gambling addicts rise in the UK, the counter strike of Gambling Commission is here again. This time is in their focus the so called loyalty plan or the VIP scheme if you want.

There was a case of an operator where only 2% of the customers were part of the VIP scheme, but were responsible for 83% of all deposits. With an argument like that, the UKGC will most likely in the following months ban the VIP schemes causing a significant blow to the industry.

What are the next steps going to be? There were rumors about the £2 limit being applied to online casinos as well. If this will be accepted, the online gambling in the UK will suffer a serious hit.

Is gambling really such a dirty word? Reminds me of the following Chocolate? Yes but sugar free. Wine? Yes, but alcohol free. Ice cream? Yes, but fat free. Sex? Sure, but only safe sex.

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