888 accepts the statement published today by the UK Gambling Commission (‘UKGC’) on its website relating to certain of the Group’s former safer gambling and anti-money laundering policies and procedures in the UK.
Following the UKGC’s compliance assessment which concluded in October 2020, 888 took immediate and appropriate action to improve its internal policies and procedures so as to ensure full compliance with its UK licensing obligations. These actions included:
- Implementing additional customer source of funds checks and loss limits.
- Reducing the thresholds in Observer, 888’s in-house developed customer behaviour monitoring technology, that trigger alerts and customer interactions.
- Investing in its safer gambling and compliance team, including additional training for relevant employees.
- Strengthening and developing 888’s assessment of the anti-money laundering risks facing the business.
In addition, since that time, 888 has also initiated several other important safer gambling initiatives including the launch of Control Centre, a customer-focused interface that enables customers to monitor their gambling activity through intuitively presented, real-time data, and the establishment of a new ESG committee of the Board, which will enhance Board oversight of 888’s ongoing progress against its safer gambling commitments and objectives.
888 is entirely committed to making gambling safer and has engaged proactively and openly with the UKGC throughout the investigation process. The UKGC stated in its findings to the Group that it gained reassurance from the information provided by 888, including the insights and lessons learnt as set out in its correspondence with the UKGC.
888 expects no impact on the Group’s 2022 forecasts from today’s announcement, with 888 having previously provided against the financial impact of the matters concerned, and the operational changes associated with addressing the investigation’s findings.
Itai Pazner, CEO of the Group, commented:
We recognise our responsibility to make gambling safer and regret that previous implementation of our processes failed to meet required standards in the UK. We accept the findings of the UKGC’s investigation of some of 888’s former policies and procedures and have taken immediate appropriate action to improve and address the failings.
Over recent years we have made significant investments in safer gambling, including more than doubling the size of our compliance team since 2019. We will continue to work closely with the UKGC, our peers and other stakeholders to drive continuous improvement in the industry. We continue to prioritise safer gambling by investing in technology as a force for good, giving customers transparency about their activity and using sophisticated AI to detect and block harmful play. We know that our work in this area must be ongoing and we remain committed to continuing investment in meeting our safer gambling objectives.”
