The former chief of Entain transformed the group into a global online gambling powerhouse. He later faced bribery and fraud charges. He has now filed a civil case against the UK Gambling Commission in London.
King Kenny Alexander was Entain’s CEO, previously known as GVC Holdings, from 2007 to 2020. He reshaped GVC from a small AIM-listed operator into a FTSE 100 giant. Over 13 years, he also turned it into one of the largest gambling companies in the world.
In August this year, UK prosecutors formally charged Alexander, former Entain chairman Lee Feldman, and nine others. They face bribery, fraud, and tax offenses connected to the past operations of the group’s Turkish subsidiary, Headlong.
In October last year, Alexander and Feldman sued the UKGC. They claimed the commission violated their right to privacy by allegedly blocking their bid to take control of 888 Holdings.
After leaving Entain in June 2023, Alexander and Feldman purchased 6.5% of 888 Holdings through a company called FS Gaming. The plan involved installing themselves as heads of the business.
Yet 888 stopped negotiations after the UKGC said it would face a license review if the agreement went ahead. HMRC, the UK tax authority, is investigating alleged bribery in black-market Türkiye between 2011 and 2018. The probe involves the entity formerly known as 888.
In November 2019, HMRC opened a criminal investigation into the third-party suppliers of Headlong.
By July 2020, the probe had expanded to include the subsidiary itself under the UK Bribery Act. Prosecutors were examining whether GVC/Entain had failed to prevent corrupt practices within Headlong’s operations.
Authorities signed a Deferred Prosecution Agreement in 2023. Investigators found evidence of bribery and covert payment structures connected to Headlong’s Turkish-facing Sportingbet operations.
