Two gambling bosses facing criminal charges of bribery and fraud have begun a separate civil claim against the Gambling Commission, claiming the regulator breached their right to privacy when it intervened in their plan to take control of the online casino company 888.
Kenny Alexander and Lee Feldman, the former chief executive and chair of the Ladbrokes and Coral owner, Entain, bought 6.5% of 888 Holdings in June 2023 via a vehicle called FS Gaming and proposed installing themselves at the top of the business, which also owned William Hill.
The plan collapsed after 888 broke off talks, telling investors that it had done so after the regulator said it would review its licence to operate owing to concerns about the pair’s previous roles at Entain, which was the subject of an HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigation into alleged bribery at its Turkish operation between 2011 and 2018.
The regulator had asked the company if it knew whether the two men had been interviewed under caution or were suspects in the investigation, codenamed Operation Incendiary.
In its statement to the stock market, 888 said that it had not been able to obtain “the most basic assurances” to address these concerns.
Alexander and Feldman’s case rests partly on a claim that the Gambling Commission breached their privacy by causing a statement to be issued that disclosed the existence of the licence review and the reasons for it.
The commission said it had had no option but to step in after learning that Feldman and Alexander, known in the industry as “King Kenny”, were suspects in the HMRC investigation.
In cross-examination, Feldman confirmed that he had been aware at the time of the talks that Alexander was a suspect.
Entain agreed in 2023 to pay £650m as part of a deferred prosecution agreement relating to HMRC’s investigation, which was into alleged bribery in the company’s Turkish operations.
Alexander and Feldman are among 11 defendants who have since been charged with 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 it breached their right to privacy via “very considerable collaboration” on the statement revealing the licence review. In court documents, lawyers for the claimants described the review as a “convenient fiction”.
The claimants 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.
As part of the claim, they say 888 issued its statement without having given them a chance to address any concerns.
Lawyers for the commission said Feldman and Alexander could have answered questions from 888 about Operation Incendiary but Feldman had instead replied to the company to complain about “fearmongering”.
Feldman and Alexander claim the regulator’s actions had caused them “damage, distress and embarrassment, as well as the loss of standing”.
They claim that publication of information about the regulator’s review “gave the clear impression that there had effectively been an adverse finding” that made them unsuitable to take over at 888.
In a witness statement, Feldman said he had been “ostracised by my peers” as a result of the commission’s actions, had been unable to work for two years and was concerned about what his children would read about him in the future.
Defending the claim, the regulator said none of the publications relating to the claimants revealed their private information, nor had they been caused any damage. It also said any publication of information about the claimants was in the public interest.
The court was told that Alexander engaged in discussions with 888, knowing that he was the suspect of a crime in relation to Operation Incendiary. Feldman confirmed in a witness statement that he knew at the time that Alexander was a suspect, although Feldman himself was not a suspect at the time.
Separately, 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.
