UK sports betting operator VIP schemes facing ban

[The Buzz]

Sports betting operators in the U.K. could be forced to halt VIP loyalty schemes according to a report in The Daily Mail this week that suggest government ministers view the practice as “immoral” and want them banned as part of the reforms of the 2005 Gambling Act review.

From the article:

A senior Government source told The Mail on Sunday that plans for an outright ban of the practice have won Ministerial support.

Previous attempts by the Gambling Commission to regulate the VIP practice have been accused of not going far enough.

Since October, bookies are required to check that customers can afford what they are betting before they make a customer a VIP.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader who has campaigned on the issue, last night said it was ‘high time’ VIP managers were banned.

He welcomed the news and said the ‘immoral’ practice is an ‘atrocious abuse, forcing people into debt; desperation by giving them incentive.

‘They are deliberately driving gamblers to worse debt.’ Sir Iain described claims from the gambling industry that the VIP practice has become better regulated as ‘rubbish’.

The Gambling Commission’s decision not to ban VIP schemes last year when bringing in new rules led campaigners to attack its ‘weak and vague regulation’.

Read more here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-gambling.html

[ddm]

the "daily hate" talking about morality. Cool story.

not so long ago they were even banned from wikipedia..
scum company.

[AVC-Invest]

If affordability checks have been done, I find it difficult to understand why a VIP service cannot be offered....

[Madz]

Coming from a bunch of immoral c***s its almost laughable.... almost.

[baldidiot]

They've been banging this drum for quite a while...

[DaftDog]

Coming from a bunch of immoral c***s its almost laughable.... almost.

Better to call them "a bunch of immoral pricks" seeing that they are all mostly men.

[Cash Bonus]

That's seriously messed up. There's nothing at all immoral about it. They're just small minded.

[Karri]

That's seriously messed up. There's nothing at all immoral about it. They're just small minded.

Uh, I bet most VIP players have a gambling problem. On the other hand, now the same things will simply be marketed as loyalty clubs or some such.

[baldidiot]

Uh, I bet most VIP players have a gambling problem. On the other hand, now the same things will simply be marketed as loyalty clubs or some such.

I think they're including loyalty schemes in this as well.

[newcustomeroffer]

Thought the part on VIP schemes in this article from the Racing Post was interesting, in particular:
https://www.racingpost.com/news/gamb...ambling/509663

Last month the Racing Post investigated the threat of the black market and found dozens of websites were brazenly advertising directly to customers who had signed up for the industry's self-exclusion scheme GamStop.

It was claimed unregulated operators were approaching former VIP managers for regulated bookmakers to access their customer lists, including problem gamblers, as they felt they were "commercially lucrative".

So in a nutshell, shut down VIP schemes and the contact details of those customers becomes hot property and ends up in an unregulated operation. Not really solving the issue methinks.

[gil.langelaan]

Uh, I bet most VIP players have a gambling problem. On the other hand, now the same things will simply be marketed as loyalty clubs or some such.

Oh yeah, totally agree. But that's the easiest and simplest decision