VIP Schemes and the Risk They Create

VIP programmes offer faster withdrawals, higher limits, bespoke bonuses and a named account manager. They are offered to customers generating the most revenue, which by definition means the most loss.

Regulators have taken repeated enforcement action over VIP practices: incentivising customers who displayed clear risk indicators, granting limit increases without affordability checks, and using account managers to encourage continued play after losses.

Current expectations in stricter jurisdictions require affordability assessment before VIP status, ongoing safer gambling monitoring, and separation between the commercial relationship and safer gambling decisions.

If you are offered VIP status, read it as information about your own spending level rather than as a reward. The tangible benefits are usually smaller than the behavioural pull.