Mr Green warned by Danish Gambling Authority for AML breach

Mr Green has received a warning from Denmark’s gambling authority, Spillemyndigheden, after breaching the “know your customer” (KYC) section of the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Spillemyndigheden found that a “young player” was able to deposit DKK325,000 (£39,402) over the course of a year without Mr Green ascertaining whether he had the sufficient means to do so or whether the funds were the proceeds of criminal activity.

The ruling stated that “Mr Green has failed to comply with the obligations on KYC measures and the obligation to investigate”.

Mr Green informed the regulator that it had learned the profession of the customer in question through internet searches and, in the operator’s opinion, believed that the player was able to finance his gambling, despite having deposited more than his disposable income.

As a result, the firm conducted no further investigations pertaining to the source of his income.

Spillemyndigheden concluded that insufficient checks were conducted, and that the original investigation produced the incorrect conclusion adding that further checks should have been completed to disprove that the funds were not an attempt to launder money.

The Danish regulator added that a warning was a sufficient penalty as Mr Green has since introduced more stringent measures and investigations in order to prevent a similar incident taking place.

Repeated breaches, however, could lead to an order, warning or, in more serious cases, a report to the police.

While Mr Green is owned by William Hill, the whole business will be part of 888 once its £2.2bn acquisition of William Hill International completes in Q2 2022.