888 Share Price Goes Up Despite the Record Fine

Gibraltar based operator of several high-profile gambling websites, 888 Holdings, reported a 5% share price increase, despite the recent record fine issued by the Gambling Commission.

The company was fined with £7.8 million due to significant flaws in consumer protection.

What Happened?

A technical failure in 888’s system allowed more than 7,000 self-excluded members to access their accounts with no restrictions whatsoever.

The system failure went unnoticed and during the breach period, around £3.5 million was deposited into the account of self-excluded players, giving them more than 13 months of gambling time.

The Gambling Commission later said 888’s self-exclusion procedures failed to protect potentially vulnerable customers. In addition to that, 888 was reprimanded for not recognizing a visible problem gambling behaviour, displayed by one of its customers.

During a 13-month period, the unnamed punter wagered more than £1.3 million, gambling from 3 to 4 hours a day. He was eventually arrested for stealing £55,000 from his employers.

The Aftermath

Commission reacted swiftly, ordering 888 to pay a regulatory settlement of £4.25 million, plus a £62,000 compensation to the employer whose money was stolen by the aforementioned 888 customer.

In addition to that, 888 was ordered to return £3.5 million to its customers.

Sarah Harrison, chief executive of the Gambling Commission stated consumer protection wasn’t optional and added the fine of around £8 million reflected the gravity of the situation and should serve as a warning to all who fail to protect vulnerable customers.

She said the money from the fine would be used for tackling gambling-related harms.

This news comes only a couple of weeks after the Commission published its report on gambling behaviour in Great Britain.

This comprehensive analysis revealed the rates of participation, at risk and problem gambling, as well as the associated characteristics and behaviour of British gamblers.

The report followed the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB) assessment of progress made in the first year of the National Responsible Gambling Strategy.

RSGB expressed concerns with four areas of the gaming action plan and called for an efficient action on identifying and measuring gambling-related harm.