The ex-CEO of GVC Holdings (now Entain) Kenny Alexander and former chair Lee Feldman have lost their civil suit in which they accused the Gambling Commission (GC) of breaching their right to privacy.
The pair took the regulator to court last year when it intervened in 2023 regarding their intentions to take over 888 Holdings (now evoke).
Alexander and Feldman had built up a 6.5% stake in London-listed 888 through their investment vehicle FS Gaming, with the intention of taking control of the operator and appointing themselves as bosses.
However, 888 ended discussions and publicly announced that the GC was to review its licence over Alexander and Feldman’s previous links to Entain, which was being investigated at the time by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over alleged bribery at a since-disposed Turkish business.
The Ladbrokes and Coral parent company sold the Turkey-facing unit in late 2017 to Ropso Malta Limited for a total consideration of €150m.
Last October, though, Alexander and several former colleagues at GVC appeared in court over bribery charges relating to the operator’s former Turkish operations, in a separate case.
Alexander, who resides in Perth, Scotland, faces charges of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe between 2011 and 2018. Feldman is charged with the same offences.
Meanwhile, Robert Hoskin, who up until 2023 was Entain’s chief governance officer, is accused of perverting the course of justice in February 2024.
London’s Southwark Crown Court has set a provisional trial date of February 2028 for the case hearing.
Yesterday, 19 January, a civil suit was heard in London’s Royal Courts of Justice against the GC in which it was claimed the regulator misused Alexander and Feldman’s private information and breached their confidence.
Yet, Mrs Justice Eady dismissed all grounds and ordered the claimants to pay the regulator’s costs.
The reasons for the dismissal were not revealed because Eady imposed a temporary order blocking the details from being reported.
A spokesperson for the Birmingham-headquartered GC told EGR: “We welcome the dismissal.”
In late 2023, Entain agreed to pay HMRC £585m over the bribery probe as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, plus a charitable contribution of £20m and £10m toward costs incurred by HMRC and the Crown Prosecution Service, respectively.
Separately, Alexander, who stood down as CEO of the multinational group in 2020, was banned from driving and fined £1,000 in 2021 after he took a delivery driver’s car from outside a kebab shop following a night of drinking.
The 56-year-old Scot rose to prominence as boss of GVC, transforming it via blockbuster and bolt-on M&A deals from a company with one casino brand to a multi-billion-pound international powerhouse. His moniker in the industry was ‘King Kenny’.
He’s also well known in horseracing circles for being the owner of two-time Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle.
The post Former GVC bosses lose civil case filed against Gambling Commission first appeared on EGR Intel.
Kenny Alexander and Lee Feldman ordered to pay regulator’s costs after claim over privacy breach is dismissed at the Royal Courts of Justice in London
The post Former GVC bosses lose civil case filed against Gambling Commission first appeared on EGR Intel.