Casino VIP program checklist, seven things UK rules have required before VIP status since 2020

2026-10-20

The UK Gambling Commission published tighter guidance on VIP schemes on September 30, 2020, and applied it from October 31 (SBC News). It sets the checks a site must make before moving a customer up to VIP.

Anyone who gets a message from a baccarat site offering a personal manager or tailored bonuses can turn this around and ask whether the site has made those checks.

1.What VIP refers to

High value customer (HVC): a big or frequent spender the site files under VIP or a similar label.

The guidance covers tailored incentives tied to high spend or frequent play. Invitations to events, a dedicated contact and bonuses or gifts given to that person alone all count.

One-off promotions offered to everyone on the same terms, and prize draws, sit outside it. How to read ordinary bonus terms is in the baccarat site bonus post.

2.Seven checks before VIP status

UK code provision 5.1.1 says VIP incentives must be offered in a way consistent with the licensing objectives and that the Commission's guidance must be taken into account. The guidance splits the minimum standards as follows.

Before the designation

First, affordability. The guidance asks whether the spending is affordable and sustainable as part of the customer's leisure spend.

Second, signs of gambling harm.

Third, enhanced checks. It asks for identity, occupation and where the money actually used to gamble comes from. There is also a line urging caution when a large unplanned windfall appears.

Fourth, self-exclusion history. Incentives for a customer who once excluded themselves are limited to very narrow cases.

After the designation

Fifth, even with no change in the risk assessment, a VIP account is reviewed at least once a quarter. That is four times a year or more, so a check made once on the day of the designation does not settle the account for good, and a site that never comes back with questions after the first round is not following the guidance.

Sixth, staff rewards are not tied to customer losses or spend. Each scheme has a named senior executive, and the board or an executive committee oversees it.

Where possible staff are rotated, and training is recorded and refreshed regularly. The aim is to avoid one staff member holding on to one customer for a long time.

Seventh, VIP status is suspended at once if any check fails. A customer who cannot or will not give the information needed is not eligible in the first place.

The guidance ends by saying that a site unable to meet these minimum standards should not run VIP schemes at all.

3.When leaving VIP

The guidance says a request to be removed must be handled promptly and tailored incentives stopped at once. So it is better to send the request by email or a contact form, which leaves a record, than through chat.

What should stop are the incentives attached to that person alone: tailored bonuses, calls from a dedicated manager and event invitations. Saving the request date with the reply makes it possible to check by date whether tailored offers still arrive the next month.

Even with a VIP offer on the table, keep the deposit limit at the figure already set. Why raising a limit comes with a waiting period is in the baccarat site limit post.

4.In Korea

In Korea, Article 246 of the Criminal Act makes gambling a punishable offence. Anyone in Korea who finds it hard to keep control can call the Korea Center on Gambling Problems helpline on 1336.

5.One-line takeaway

When a VIP offer arrives, look past the list of perks to whether the site asks about identity and source of funds and reviews the account every quarter.

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