Danish regulator hands Mr Green with reprimand relating to AML reporting
DGA establishes 888-owned firm failed to immediately report two suspicious transactions as operator pledges to "work closely" with regulator
The Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) has reprimanded Mr Green after the operator failed to immediately notify the Money Laundering Secretariat over a suspected suspicious transaction.
The regulator announced it had handed the 888-owned operator with the reprimand on 10 April after it established two instances where the firm had not complied with regulations.
Under the Danish Anti-Money Laundering Act Act on Measures to Prevent Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (the AML Act), companies must immediately notify the Money Laundering Secretariat if it “knows, suspects or has reasonable grounds to suspect that a transaction, funds or activity is or has been related to money laundering or terrorist financing”.
The DGA confirmed that the reprimand does not include any obligation for action by Mr Green as the breach no longer exits.
However, the regulator did issue three orders to Mr Green in relation to breaches regarding risk assessments, internal controls and a lack of documentation.
In terms of the insufficient risk assessment, the DGA ruled that the procedure did not include separate assessments for payment solutions.
Under Danish law, separate risk assessments are needed for “individual payment solutions and delivery channels” alongside an additional risk assessment for the risk factors associated with these factors.
In regard to internal controls, the DGA said there were no written procedures on how to monitor controls in-house relating to the interval at which controls should be performed.
Finally, a third order was issued after the DGA decided Mr Green did not sufficiently document controls that had been carried out to verify internal controls had been performed.
The DGA has asked Mr Green to submit a revised risk assessment and a revised business procedure for internal controls by 10 June.
Documents relating to the final point have also been requested to be submitted by 10 October.
An 888 spokesperson said: “Following a routine audit of Mr Green by the Danish regulator, Spillemyndigheden, we have three audit findings to address.
“We are working closely with the regulator and plan to make some minor amendments to our AML processes and accompanying documentation.”
Elsewhere, the DGA confirmed 50,000 people have signed up to its self-exclusion register ROFUS as of this month.
The regulator noted that 64% of those to have signed up have done so permanently, with 17% choosing to self-exclude for six months.
The DGA also revealed total GGR for the Danish market slipped 1.7% in 2023 to DKK10.3bn (£936.4m), with online casino the largest vertical in the Nordic nation with GGR of DKK3.1bn.