888 chief leaves as online betting group launches VIP accounts probe

The chief executive of online betting company 888 has left the business following the launch of an internal investigation into suspected money laundering on VIP customer accounts.

The Gibraltar-headquartered gambling group said on Monday it had suspended a series of VIP customer accounts in the Middle East after it emerged that “best practices have not been followed” in relation to “know your client” and anti-money laundering regulations.

888 said further internal investigations were under way. The suspended accounts affect up to 3 per cent of group revenues, or about £50mn, the group added. But it stressed that the process deficiencies were “isolated” to the Middle East.

In a separate announcement, 888 said its chief executive Itai Pazner was leaving straight away after four years in the post and more than two decades at the gambling operator.

Lord Jonathan Mendelsohn, a Labour peer and the group’s non-executive chair, will run the business while the board searches for a new chief executive. Earlier this month, 888’s finance chief Yariv Dafna announced he was leaving the business at the end of March.

“The board and I take the group’s compliance responsibilities incredibly seriously,” Mendelsohn said in a statement. “When we were alerted to issues with some of 888’s VIP customers, the board took decisive actions. We will be uncompromising in our approach to compliance as we build a strong and sustainable business.”

Shares in 888 fell 12 per cent in early trading in London.

The loss of both its chief executive and chief financial officer in quick succession leaves 888 in a precarious position as it looks to reassure wary investors with plans to cut its £1.8bn debt pile, largely resulting from the purchase of rival William Hill’s operations outside the US.

Last year, 888 was hit with a £9.4mn fine from the Gambling Commission, the UK regulator, over “social responsibility and money laundering failings”.