The Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner confirmed that, despite recently revealed compliance breaches, it is highly unlikely for 888 Holdings to have its licence seized by local competent authorities.
The Commissioner, which is currently the official gambling regulatory body in Gibraltar, is taking enforcement action against the online gambling company that violated local regulations. The watchdog confirmed that the investigation found serious failures on 888 Holdings’ part but the company is still likely to keep its operating permit.
The Gibraltar gambling regulator shared that it is set to start reviewing and considering the outcome of the internal investigation of the company’s business. As Casino Guardian reported earlier this week, 888 Holdings, which holds a gambling operating permit in Gibraltar, was found guilty of lack of compliance with the anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) protocols of the jurisdiction.
The watchdog explained that it is still too early to discuss the type of penalty that the online gambling company will face as a result of its transgressions and non-compliance. However, the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner noted that it is highly unlikely for 888 Holdings to lose its operating permit in the country.
Furthermore, the regulatory body praised the company for its commitment to cooperate when it comes to resolving the case and noted that it would take the gambling operator’s collaboration into account when making a decision on a suitable regulatory outcome. In its turn, 888 Holdings promised that all customer accounts linked to the issue have been suspended while it is carrying out an internal investigation. The online gambling operator promised to keep the results of the probe fully transparent until the issue is finally resolved.
888 Holdings Forced to Suspend VIP Customer Accounts in the Middle East and Parts Ways with CFO and CEO
As Casino Guardian revealed earlier this week, Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings is currently facing certain difficulties. The company was forced to suspend its VIP activities in the Middle East region as a result of the scandal, but also had to part ways with its chief executive officer Itai Pazner who left the gambling giant with immediate effect.
For now, Mr Pazner was replaced by Lord Mendelsohn, who will serve as a temporary CEO until a suitable successor is found for the role.
Reportedly, it turned out that a large number of the aforementioned anti-money laundering and know-your-customer failures were largely linked to VIP customer accounts in the Middle East. Despite the fact that the scandalous revelations and the subsequent regulatory hurdles may seriously tarnish the reputation of the Gibraltar-based gambling operator, 888 Holdings was still relieved that the issues that led to the scandal were pretty much contained in a single region.
Since Gibraltar is British Overseas Territory (BOT), some analysts have expected the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to interfere and roll out an investigation of its own into the 888 Holdings’ operations. For the time being, the UK gambling regulatory body has not revealed any such action. If it does, however, the online gambling operator risks getting into even more trouble.
The gambling company also had extremely weak financial performance over the fourth fiscal quarter in the wake of the acquisition of William Hill’s non-US operations. 888 Holdings also parted ways with Yariv Dafna, its chief financial officer.
- Author
Olivia Cole
