MASHINIi

888 Holdings.

888.LSE | Gambling and betting activities

888 Holdings is a global online gambling company. It owns and operates a range of online gambling sites, including casino, poker, sport, and bingo games. The company provides business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) services. Its B2C operations involve direct provision of online gam...Show More

Ethical Profile

Mixed.

888 Holdings faced substantial regulatory fines, including £9.4 million and a £19.2 million payment by William Hill for alleged anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures. A 2017 data breach reportedly exposed 7 million customers, incurring a £7.8 million fine. AML/KYC deficiencies allegedly prompted the CEO's resignation. Employee reports cite 'low salaries' and bonus concerns; only 50% earn a living wage. Despite gambling's inherent risks, 888's Observer system recorded nearly 1.3 million responsible gaming interactions in 2021. Delisted from the UN Global Compact for failing to communicate progress, recent reports indicate improvements, with the UK Gambling Commission taking no further action after a July 2023 review.

Value Scores

Better Health for All-30
-100100
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity0
-100100
Fair Pay & Worker Respect10
-100100
Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing10
-100100
Honest & Fair Business-10
-100100
Kind to Animals0
-100100
No War, No Weapons0
-100100
Planet-Friendly Business-60
-100100
Respect for Cultures & Communities-20
-100100
Safe & Smart Tech0
-100100
Zero Waste & Sustainable Products0
-100100

Better Health for All

-30

The company's core business is online gambling, which inherently carries severe health risks, including addiction, for a segment of its users. Therefore, 100% of its products and revenue are from activities with established negative health outcomes. The company acknowledges these risks and has implemented substantial mitigation efforts. It launched a 'Safer. Better. Together' safer gambling strategy in 2020.

1
, including the Control Centre, which provides customers with real-time transparency on their gambling activity and tools for self-restriction.
2
By 2021, the Control Centre was available to 39% of global customers.
3
The Observer AI system detected potentially concerning activity, prompting nearly 1.3 million customer interactions in 2021.
4
The company also runs responsible gambling advertising campaigns
5
, participates in Responsible Gambling Week
6
, and has a dedicated website for responsible gaming.
7
William Hill (now Evoke) data shows a significant increase in deposit limit usage (42% in 2020)
8
, safer gambling interactions (877,872 in 2020)
9
, and self-exclusions (102,596 in 2020).
10
During the COVID-19 pandemic, 888 prioritized employee and customer well-being
11
, enabling remote work, offering employee support, and increasing vigilance on safer gambling with special customer protections.
12
The company has robust data protection measures, including a Data Protection Officer and GDPR-compliant policies
13
, and provides mental health support for its employees.
14
Past regulatory findings in 2016 cited "significant flaws" in consumer protection.
15

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

0

The company, 888 Holdings, operates in the online gambling industry. The provided KPIs under 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' are primarily designed for traditional financial institutions offering lending, deposit, or insurance services. Consequently, the company's core business model does not align with the specific definitions and quantitative thresholds of these KPIs. For instance, there is no evidence regarding loan or insurance book share, APRs or fees for credit products, customer debt-to-income ratios, or financial service access points in underserved areas. While the company engages in safer gambling initiatives, including providing real-time data on gambling activity to 72% of 888 brand players

1
and supporting national gambling harm prevention programs
2
, the articles do not provide the specific quantitative data (e.g., reach and outcomes for financial literacy, or explicit open-banking APIs for data portability) required to score these activities against the rubric's precise thresholds. Therefore, all KPIs are omitted due to a lack of directly applicable evidence.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

10

The company reported an average overall employee satisfaction of 93% at the end of 2023

1
, with its Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) increasing from +8 to +11 during the same year
2
. The voluntary employee turnover rate was 32.56% overall at the end of 2023
3
. Employee feedback from 2023 highlighted concerns about low salaries and a lack of bonuses
4
,
5
, with some employees criticizing management and citing "constant layoffs."
6
Conversely, other employees praised "great people," "flexible hours," and "amazing work-life balance."
7
The company's Diversity and Inclusion rating is 3.5 out of 5 stars based on employee feedback
8
. In 2021, the company reported no red flag events under its Anti-Modern Slavery Policy
9
, adhering to the United Nations Global Compact's principles on human rights and labor standards and the International Labour Organisation's core conventions
10
.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

10

The company operates in the online gambling industry, which is primarily service-based and does not procure or trade physical commodities.

1
Consequently, traditional fair-trade certifications, traceability of material provenance, and sourcing of high-risk materials are not applicable to its core operations. The company reports zero substantiated forced or child labour incidents.
2
This is supported by a zero-tolerance approach to slavery and trafficking, regular risk assessments, and continuous alert-driven monitoring of its supply base.
3
Modern Slavery provisions are included in each supplier contract, indicating 100% coverage of ethical clauses.
4

Honest & Fair Business

-10

The company incurred approximately $38.8 million in ethics-related regulatory fines over the past three years.

1
This includes a $23.7 million fine for William Hill (acquired by 888) in March 2023,
2
a £2.9 million (approx. $3.6 million) settlement with the Gibraltar regulator in August 2023,
3
4
and a £9.4 million (approx. $11.6 million) penalty from the UK Gambling Commission in March 2022.
5
6
These fines were primarily for failures in social responsibility and anti-money laundering protocols.
7
The company has a comprehensive anti-corruption policy with zero tolerance for bribery and corruption, applying to all entities and third parties.
8
9
It includes mandatory training for relevant personnel, due diligence for high-risk business associates, clear record-keeping, and annual board review.
10
A robust, Group-wide whistleblowing policy is in place, adopted by the Board and applicable to all individuals.
11
12
It offers multiple reporting channels, including an independent third-party service (Navex Global) for confidential and anonymous reporting.
13
The policy ensures protection against retaliation, with disciplinary action for victimizers, and provides reporters with acknowledgement of receipt and case updates every 14 days.
14
The company has not had any financial restatements in the past five years, though a restatement for 2020 was made to reclassify on-demand deposits.
15

Kind to Animals

0

888 Holdings operates in the online gambling sector, which does not directly involve animal welfare concerns. The company's business model does not include animal-derived products, animal testing, animal husbandry, or operations that impact wildlife habitats. No recent information indicates involvement in animal welfare activities.

1
While the company sponsored a stand at Fontwell Park Racecourse in 2010, this is noted as a connection to animal-related sports, not an action promoting animal welfare or engaging in policy improvement.
2

No War, No Weapons

0

888 Holdings operates in the gambling industry, providing online betting and gaming products. The company's core business activities do not involve arms manufacturing, military contracts, or any association with warfare.

1
As such, it has no revenue from arms or defense contracts, does not develop or sell dual-use technology, and has no assets in conflict-exposed sectors. The company is not subject to the Arms Trade Treaty, does not use AI militarily, and has no dual-use portfolio. It also has no defense business to oversee, no defense assets to divest, and no applicable technology development related to peace tech. There is no evidence of exports requiring end-user certificates, defense-related lobbying, defense procurement, war-risk audits, or involvement in intelligence or surveillance activities. The company's business model does not require ethical red lines related to weapons, nor does it involve mineral inputs.

Planet-Friendly Business

-60

The company has set a net-zero target for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, and for the entire value chain (including Scope 3) by 2035.

1
This is supported by an interim Scope 3 reduction target of 10% from 2021.
2
The company intends to apply for Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) approval, but its targets are not yet explicitly stated as SBTi-aligned, and validation is pending.
3
The company has a TCFD report and has undertaken climate-related scenario analysis to inform its strategy and risk management.
4
However, it acknowledges that further work is required on specific parts of its TCFD Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics and Targets disclosures.
5

Respect for Cultures & Communities

-20

The company does not have grievance mechanisms available for community stakeholders.

1
It has engaged in at least 7 formal partnerships, including with the Betting and Gaming Council, European Gaming and Betting Association, Optimal Monitoring, Anonymind, EPIC Risk Management, Beacon Counselling Trust, Retired Greyhound Trust, and Neighbourly platform.
2
No cultural appropriation incidents have been reported.
3
The company does not have a specific cultural impact assessment protocol, which is considered not applicable given its online gambling business model. Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes are not applicable to its operations, and no indigenous or minority-owned suppliers are engaged.
4
There are no reported cultural site disruptions, as the company's operations do not typically occur near such sites.

Safe & Smart Tech

0

888 Holdings has faced significant regulatory challenges, including a settlement with the Great Britain Gambling Commission for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings in 2020-2021.

1
In January 2023, the CEO resigned following an internal investigation that revealed deficiencies in AML and KYC processes
2
, leading to the suspension of VIP accounts in the Middle East.
3
The company also reached a regulatory settlement with the Gibraltar regulator in 2023 for compliance shortcomings related to these VIP accounts
4
, paying £2.9 million
5
, though two agreed license conditions were fulfilled by February 2024.
6
Despite these compliance issues, the company has not had any documented data breaches in the past three years and employs advanced security measures such as traffic filtering, anti-DDoS devices, anti-virus protections, regular PCI DSS security audits, external security scans, a disaster recovery site, and WORM backups.
7
It provides customers with a "Control Centre," accessible to over 70% of users
8
, offering tailored data, deposit limits, promotional preferences, and self-exclusion/take a break features
9
, with new self-exclusion requests applying across all 888 group brands from April 2023.
10
The company complies with eCOGRA guidelines
11
and the Great Britain Gambling Act 2005.
12

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

0

No specific, concrete data points were found in the provided articles regarding waste diversion rates, product recyclability, packaging sustainability, recycled content, single-use plastic reduction, take-back programs, circular design principles, waste reduction initiatives, hazardous waste management, product durability, repairability, waste audit frequency, zero waste certification, waste disposal violations, material efficiency, packaging to product ratio, waste reduction targets, supplier waste requirements, or customer waste education. The company's core operations are digital, resulting in minimal physical waste

1
, and the available information primarily focuses on carbon emission targets
2
and energy efficiency
3
rather than waste management.

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AI-generated analysis based on publicly available data. Not financial advice. Ratings are expressions of opinion derived from automated models and may contain inaccuracies. See our Risk Disclosure for full details.