'This is not acceptable' - Gambling Commission hits 888 with £9.4 million fine

Online betting and gaming company 888 has been hit with a huge £9.4 million fine by the Gambling Commission after an investigation revealed social responsibility and money laundering failings.

The penalty is the third biggest to be imposed by the industry regulator, which warned 888's licence to operate would have to be considered if there were further transgressions.

It is the second time 888 has faced enforcement action by the Gambling Commission, with the company paying a £7.8m penalty package in 2017 for failing vulnerable customers.

Among a number of social responsibility failures uncovered by the commission were not carrying out an interaction with a customer who lost £37,000 in a six-week period during the Covid-19 pandemic and giving a customer they knew was an NHS worker earning £1,400 a month a monthly deposit cap of £1,300.

Money laundering failures included implementing a policy whereby customers were allowed to deposit £40,000 before carrying out source of fund checks, and allowing one customer to spend £65,835 in just five months without source of funds checks being carried out.

Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes said: “The circumstances of the last enforcement action may be different but both cases involve failing consumers – and this is something that is not acceptable.

"Today’s fine is one of our largest to date, and all should be clear that if there is a repeat of the failures at 888 then we have to seriously consider the suitability of the operator to uphold the licensing objectives and keep gambling safe and crime-free.

Andrew Rhodes: Gambling Commission head warned 888 over its future conduct

"Consumers in Britain deserve to know that when they gamble, they are participating in a leisure activity where operators play their part in keeping them safe and are carrying out checks to ensure money is crime-free."

Itai Pazner, the chief executive of 888, which is in the process of completing its takeover of William Hill's non-US business, said the company regretted that its actions had "failed to meet required standards in the UK".

He added: "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.”

Last week, BetVictor was hit with a £2m regulatory action by the Gambling Commission after an investigation revealed fairness, social responsibility, and money laundering failures.

The five biggest Gambling Commission enforcement actions

£13 million Caesars Entertainment April 2020

£11.6m Betway March 2020

£9.4m 888 Holdings March 2022

£7.8m 888 Holdings August 2017

£7.1m Daub Alderney November 2018

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