The Gambling Commission of Great Britain to Run Consultation on High-Value Customers

Starting June 19, the Gambling Commission of Great Britain (UKGC) seeks views and opinions on suggestions to modify rules regarding VIP and high-value customers. The consultation will be running until August 14.

One of the major focuses will be establishing clearer and more stringent regulations operators must abide by when transacting with these clients. All the proposed changes to the Licence Codes and Conditions of Practice (LC) should remind casinos to pay more attention to fairer, and safer communication when interacting with this particular group of customers.

More Responsibility is Needed

The ongoing consultation follows collaborative work with the industry, aiming to address three main points to make gambling safer and reduce harm across the sector.

To make better and more efficient progress…

…there are three key fields where standards need to be raised- VIP incentives, responsible product, and game design, as well as online advertising.

As far as various studies and surveys revealed, privileged customers are more prone to developing an addiction than the regular ones. This led to a warning issued from UKGC in which the regulator indicated operators should improve interaction with such clients.

Following this warning…

…and analyzing all the collected data, the operator started considering the ban of VIP programs. According to the stats, one company took 83% of all deposits from 2% of its customers.

What Are the Crucial Challenges regarding HVCs?

As for the status of an HVC or VIP client, this refers to consumers whose ”gambling custom is of exceptional commercial value to licensees.” Such customers often receive tailored bonuses, gifts, hospitality, and preferential service from the operators designed to maintain or increase this custom.

In light of this…

… the regulator believes that such clients are at higher risk of experiencing gambling-related harms and operators often fail to handle such individuals adequately. Those who breach the rules get penalized and Caesars Entertainment is one of the newest examples.

In addition to this, the GC also announced its cooperation with interim Experts by Experience Group who will provide advice, evidence, and recommendations to the Commission to help inform decision making and raise standards. Moreover, they suggested co-creating a permanent Group to advise the regulator on a more established basis.

Enhancing Protection on Multiple Fields

According to the newest APPG’s report, commented by BGC, the regulator was seen as not fit for the purpose as it relies on the Gambling Act, which is also not suitable for the digital era.

However…

…in reality, the situation is much different, as the regulator is continuously putting efforts to raise awareness and promote more safety and responsibility in various sectors.

One of the measures was the introduction of new guidelines for age and identity verification. Also, from April 14, credit cards are prohibited for online gambling.

Moreover, from March 2020, all licensees are required to participate in GAMSTOP, a multi-operator self-exclusion scheme.

Source:

“Gambling Commission opens consultation on high value ‘VIP’ customers”, gamblingcommission.gov.uk, June 19, 2020.