Gibraltar-based 888 announced it is reinstating its VIP Middle East accounts to its sportsbooks after an internal investigation into the company’s compliance policies.
The company, which includes William Hill, 888, Mr. Green, and SI Sportsbook, said the company began the internal investigation in January when allegations were brought to light.
The main charges were that certain best practices had not been followed in regard to Know Your Client and Anti-Money Laundering processes for 888 VIP customers in the Middle East region.
“While further internal investigations are underway, the board has taken the decision to suspend VIP customer accounts in the region, effective immediately” the company said in a statement in January.
They overhauled the areas of concern and reinstated the accounts last week.
Lord Mendelsohn, Executive Chair of 888, said in a statement that the company is stronger after the internal investigation.
“The combination with William Hill transformed the Group and brought together two exceptional and complementary businesses to create one of the world’s leading betting and gaming businesses,” Mendelsohn said.
Mendelsohn added that the company’s financials have improved after the investigation.
“The Group’s financial performance in the period primarily reflected the extensive actions being taken to drive higher standards of player protection,” Mendelsohn said. “While recent compliance issues in the Middle East were very disappointing, they have underlined the importance of our enhanced and proactive risk management framework.
“We have made positive progress with the integration enabling us to upgrade our synergy target from £100m to £150m. In 2023 we remain on track to deliver higher profitability as we deliver against our clear strategic priorities,” he said. “Our clear priorities of integration, market focus, and deleveraging give us confidence in our 2025 targets, as we build a stronger and more sustainable business for the future.”
In line with previously announced expectations, group revenue for the year was up 74 per cent to £1,238.8m and Adjusted EBITDA was up 82 per cent to £217.9m, both principally driven by the addition of William Hill results following completion of the acquisition on 1 July 2022.
