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.
Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner Agrees £2.9 Million Settlement with 888 SubsidiaryFollowing 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. Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner Agrees £2.9 Million Settlement with 888 Subsidiary
- 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.
Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner Agrees £2.9 Million Settlement with 888 Subsidiary Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner Agrees £2.9 Million Settlement with 888 Subsidiary.