The 2020 overhaul made operators check for affordability, signs of harm, and reliable source-of-wealth. It mandated round-the-clock senior executive accountability, notching up the pressure.
What the monitoring found
The Commission’s July 2025 monitoring, based on 2024 data, shows the 2020 policy holding.
Among a sample of operators, 60% ran an HVC or VIP scheme, a midlevel where 55% reported one three years earlier. Customer numbers held flat between 2021 and 2024. Compliance casework or consumer complaint trends showed no new concerns, either. HVC/VIP revenue came to 3% of overall operator yield from its 12-source data subset.
This contrasts with 2020, when the Commission estimated the UK had 47,000 VIP gamblers, with 8% showing signs of problem gambling. It cited their "barrier to identifying people experiencing harm." Some had called for a ban, especially in light of failures to weed out criminal proceeds from funding VIP accounts. At the time, the Commission had refused to rule out a ban or tougher controls.
But the latest monitoring suggests the combination of affordability, harm, and funds checks—alongside defined senior management accountability—has at least clamped down on the sharpest risks.
That leaves the Commission keeping an eye on how operators are putting its checks and balances to work in their regular business processes. Monitoring continues, with the next data release scheduled for 2026.
Compliance, the Commission says, is an ongoing commitment; it does not presume that its 2020 crackdown will ensure perfect adherence. Rather, ongoing oversight is essential, possibly into the coming years, to make sure operators are meeting expectations and limiting VIP gamblers' risk and harm.