Ex-GVC Holdings Leaders Take UK Gambling Commission to Court

Two former GVC Holdings executives are taking the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to court over alleged misuse of private information. The plaintiffs claim that the regulator used private information without consent, triggering the proceedings.

The Details Are Scarce

GVC Holdings, now Entain, is one of Britain’s largest gambling companies. Prior to its rebranding, Kenny Alexander and Lee Feldman, the plaintiffs in the current case, served as the company’s CEO and chairman respectively. Their case is represented by Slateford, an expert in privacy law.

While not much is known about the case yet, a report by NEXT.io pointed out that the lawsuit comes amid an ongoing HMRC investigation into GVC’s past business in Turkey. The operator’s operation in the country’s gray sector sparked allegations of fraud that caused Entain, much trouble.

Entain eventually managed to settle the matter by entering a £615 million Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) a year ago. While the company itself settled the matter, some of its former executives are yet to do so.

While NEXT.io believes that Alexander and Feldman’s lawsuit could possibly be related to GVC Holdings’ historic business in Turkey, it couldn’t confirm that with certainty. The news outlet reached out to the UKGC but could not learn more, per the regulator’s policy of not discussing ongoing legal proceedings.

Misuse of private information claims must be tested via an established two-stage procedure to determine whether a party indeed allowed unwanted access to private information.

FS Gaming Failed to Put Former GVC Executives in Leadership Roles at 888

A year ago, FS Gaming, a fund owned by three ex-GVC Holdings executives, including Alexander and Feldman terminated its voting rights deal with Shay Segev, Entain’s former chief executive. As a result, the voting rights were transferred the voting rights attaching to a total number of 9,063,313 ordinary shares in 888 Holdings to FS Gaming Investments.

This came shortly after FS Gaming’s failed arrangement to put former Entain executives in leadership roles at 888. The proposal was rejected amid investigations into GVC and 888.