Gibraltar’s Gambling Commissioner has announced that Virtual Global Digital Services Ltd — a subsidiary of 888 holdings plc — has agreed a £2.9 million ($3.7 million/€3.3 million) settlement for KYC (Know your Customer) and EDD (Enhanced Due Diligence) failings.
In January 2023, 888 announced that it had suspended “VIP” activities in certain online markets (particularly the Middle East). As a result of this announcement, the Commissioner agreed that the company should carry out an internal review into historical AML (anti money laundering) and terrorist financing controls operated in the identified markets.
Following the review, new policies and procedures were introduced and accounts that were deemed relevant to the new protocols were subject to an updated risk assessment process. 888 completed this review and update by April of 2023.
The Gibraltar Gambling Division carried out its own review and found the following weaknesses:
- Ineffective KYC controls — address details not verified or recorded correctly.
- Historical overreliance on high thresholds for EDD intervention and a lack of clarity in the threshold approach.
- Lack of consistency in the effectiveness of EDD checks — checks not carried out quickly enough. Number of accounts with suspicious activity were not flagged.
- Inconsistency with regards to keeping accounts open with restrictions as opposed to closing accounts.
- Overreliance on open-source checks and a failure to request source of funds and source of wealth documentation.
When deciding on the penalty the Commissioner took into account the fact that the company self-declared the issues and suspended all accounts with immediate effect. The Commissioner also noted that 888 was at all times forthright with information and took a proactive approach to ensuring that processes were updated accordingly.
No specific cases were identified which involved 888 dealing with the proceeds of crime or terrorist financing.
So far in 2023, gambling regulators across the globe have issued a total of £309,952,410 in fines and penalties.
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.
