The dependence of the UK gambling industry on high-spending VIPs, customers who are disproportionately likely to be addicts, has been laid bare in a secret report obtained by the Guardian. A Gambling Commission spokesman said it was already taking action to address poor practice linked to VIP programmes but was prepared to go further. Another section of the report, obtained by the Guardian under freedom of information laws, said VIP gamblers are more likely to be addicts than ordinary customers. The commission estimates there are 47,000 VIPs in Britain, with about 8% of them thought to be problem gamblers. VIP schemes have also been mentioned in a succession of regulatory punishments handed down by the Gambling Commission.

Source: The Guardian January 02, 2020 18:00 UTC