Turmoil at 888 Holdings

[The Buzz]

888 Holdings announced today that Chief Executive Officer Itai Pazner will step down immediately and that it will suspend VIP activities in the Middle East pending an internal investigation.

The company's shares fell as much as 14.4% on the news, before recovering a little to stand about 11% lower. Pazner, 50, has led the company for around four years, including overseeing the acquisition of William Hill's international assets from U.S.-based owner Caesars Entertainment in 2021.

Non-Executive Chair Jonathan Mendelsohn will take over as executive chair on an interim basis while the board searches for a new CEO. 888 did not give a reason for Pazner's departure.

From the press release:

888 today announces the suspension of VIP activities in certain of its .com markets pending the outcome of an internal compliance investigation.

Following an internal compliance review, it has come to light that certain best practices have not been followed in regard to KYC (Know Your Client) and AML (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 Board currently estimates that the impact is less than 3% of Group revenues, should the suspensions remain in place. Based on the Board's current understanding, the process deficiencies identified are isolated to this region only.

Lord Mendelsohn, Chair, commented:

"The Board and I take the Group's compliance responsibilities incredibly seriously. 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."

Read more here from Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/bri...wn-2023-01-30/