Two gambling bosses facing criminal charges of bribery and fraud have begun a civil claim against the Gambling Commission, claiming the regulator breached their right to privacy during its intervention in their proposed takeover of the online casino company 888.
Kenny Alexander and Lee Feldman, the former chief executive and chair of the Ladbrokes and Coral owner, Entain, had bought 6.5% of 888 Holdings in June 2023 via a vehicle called FS Gaming and had proposed installing themselves at the top of the business, which also owned William Hill.
The deal collapsed after 888 broke off talks, telling investors that it had done so as a result of questions from the industry regulator about the pair’s previous roles at the rival Entain, then known as GVC.
The regulator said it had received information that Alexander and Feldman were suspects in an HM Revenue and Customs investigation into alleged bribery at Entain, known as Operation Incendiary.
It asked 888 in June 2023 if the company knew whether they had been interviewed under caution or were suspects in any other investigation. The company told the stock market that it ended talks with the pair because it had not been able to obtain “the most basic assurances” from the men to address the concerns.
The commission, which had codenamed its inquiries into the two men Operation Rattle, told 888 that its licence to operate had been placed under review in the absence of satisfactory answers from them.
Entain has since agreed to pay £650m as part of a deferred prosecution agreement relating to HMRC’s investigation into alleged bribery in the company’s Turkish operations. Alexander and Feldman are among 11 defendants facing criminal charges of fraud and bribery, with a trial due to begin in 2028.
In the meantime, the pair are suing the Gambling Commission for “misuse of private information and/or breach of confidence”, alleging that the regulator breached their right to privacy, via its part in 888’s public disclosure that its licence was being reviewed because of concerns about Alexander and Feldman.
They also say their rights were breached by the regulator’s statement in March 2024 that the licence review was over because the proposal to take control of 888 was no longer going ahead.
Feldman and Alexander claim the commission’s actions have caused them “damage, distress and embarrassment, as well as the loss of standing”.
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They claim that publication of information about the regulator’s review of 888’s licence “gave the clear impression that there had effectively been an adverse finding” that made them unsuitable to take over at 888.
The commission will defend the claim, according to court documents, by saying that none of the publications relating to the claimants revealed their private information, nor have they been caused any damage. It will also say that any publication of information about the claimants was in the public interest.
Alexander was fined £1,000 and banned from driving in 2021 after admitting stealing a takeaway driver’s vehicle from outside a kebab shop and embarking on a drunken joyride through Perth, Scotland.
