NEWS
4 December 2019
Danish regulator warns 888 over AML Act breach
By Matthew Enderby

Spillemyndigheden, the Danish Gambling Authority, said 888 Denmark did not satisfy section 25 of the Act, which states operators must investigate unusually large transaction patterns and activities that do not have a clearly economic or demonstrable legal purpose.  

The regulator also noted failures to comply with section 26 of the Act, reporting suspicions that a transaction, fund or activity has been associated with money laundering to the State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime.

In a singled-out incident, a customer deposited more than DKK 1m ($148,533) into his account within three months of opening it.

During that period, 888 Denmark performed various background checks on the player, mainly through open sources available online.

After the player deposited DKK 600,000 into his account on a separate occasion, he was asked by the operator to provide proof of assets or income.

Despite his failure to do so, 888 Denmark allowed the customer to continue playing for almost a month before his account was closed.

In this case, the Danish Gambling Authority finds that 888 Denmark should have prevented the customer from playing at an earlier date and should have reported the transactions to the relevant authority.