Former Entain Chairman Lee Feldman and former CEO Kenny Alexander appeared in court on 9 December for their civil suit filed against the UK Gambling Commission in October 2024 over the alleged disclosure of private and confidential information.
Feldman and Alexander, under their investment group FS Gaming, had built a 6% stake in 888 Holdings before the investment fell through due to a licence review conducted by the Gambling Commission.
The review was conducted after a criminal investigation was launched by His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) into Entain's legacy Turkish business, which was sold in 2017.
Entain was forced to pay a £585m penalty and surrender profits following alleged offences under Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 and the failure to have adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery.
The operator also made a charitable donation of £20m and a contribution of £10m to HMRC and the CPS' costs. Entain entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the CPS in November 2023 to officially settle the investigation.
Alexander and Feldman, however, chose to file a civil suit against the Gambling Commission as they believe the alleged unlawful disclosure of private information led to financial and reputational harm.
The case was officially sent to the High Court in front of Justice Eady on 9 December, and will be heard through 12 December. The court was also granted a partial restrictive reporting order to help prevent prejudice to an upcoming criminal proceeding.
Alexander and Feldman have filed separate civil suits against Entain and law firm Addleshaw Goddard as well, with Addleshaw having previously advised the group on a variety of legal matters, including its agreement with the CPS.
Entain and Evoke both issued statements following the introduction of the UK Autumn Budget Statement on 26 November, as Entain CEO Stella David shared the operator is 'deeply disappointed' by the RGD increase
