BetCity’s Former Owners File €104M Counterclaim against Entain

A few years ago, Entain announced its plans to acquire the leading online betting and iGaming brand in the Netherlands, BetCity. Last year in January, the company finalized the acquisition of the brand. However, earlier this year, Entain launched a lawsuit, alleging that the former owners of BetCity failed to disclose a couple of breaches of the brand that ultimately resulted in fines.

BetCity was fined by the Dutch gambling regulator on two occasions. The iGaming and betting brand was hit with €3 million ($3.2 million) and €400,000 ($433,000) fines for anti-money laundering breaches, as well as violations of the gambling marketing rules in the country. While both fines were paid by the brand’s former owners, Entain’s lawsuit sought significant damages from them.

Back in February, the deadline for submission of a response and/or counterclaim by the former owners of the Dutch betting and iGaming brand was extended. The former owners, which included members of the Singels family, were given until March 19, 2024, to submit their response.

In the meantime, last week, Entain said that the damages it seeks from the former owners of the brand were estimated between €58 million and €156 million ($63-$169 million). As noted, the company claimed that the damages were the result of withholding information by BetCity’s former owners.

The latest chapter of the legal saga saw BetCity’s former owners submit a counterclaim. The group of former owners of the brand rejected Entain’s claims that the regulatory breaches were not disclosed before the closing of the acquisition in January last year. In total, the former owners of the Dutch brand seek some €103.9 million ($112.6 million) in compensation, according to their counterclaim.

Group of Former Owners Claims It Notified Entain on Multiple Occasions

Filed by members of the Singles family, along with Sports Entertainment Media and BetCity’s former marketing director, Robert Kooiman, the counterclaim alleges the owners notified Entain about the regulatory investigations on several occasions. Moreover, they claimed that Entain was aware of the probes but did not change the terms of the acquisition despite their ability to do so.

The counterclaim alleged that Entain was notified by BetCity via messages sent in November and December 2022. In November, the brand also sent a number of emails and talked over the phone with Entain members, notifying them about the investigations. Additionally, the counterclaim said that Entain itself addressed the two investigations in a letter sent on December 10, 2022, expressing its concern.

Despite this communication, the group of former owners claimed that Entain proceeded with the agreement without changing the conditions. Another issue raised in the counterclaim was a lower earnings from the BetCity brand for the former owners. BetCity’s former owners said that this was the result of operational changes completed by Entain following the finalization of the acquisition.