• Former GVC (now Entain) CEO Kenny Alexander has been charged by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) with conspiracy to bribe and conspiracy to defraud.
• The charges relate to a long-running investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) into the company’s former business in Turkey between 2011 and 2018.
• A total of 11 individuals have been charged, including former GVC Chairman Lee Feldman and a more recent Entain executive, Robert Hoskin.
• The charges against individuals follow a £585 million Deferred Prosecution Agreement ( DPA) that the corporate entity, Entain, settled with the CPS in November 2023 for failing to prevent bribery.
• This development marks a major shift in the saga, from corporate liability to the personal accountability of the senior executives who led the company during that era.

In a seismic development for the global gambling industry, Kenny Alexander, the former CEO who built GVC Holdings into the FTSE 100 giant now known as Entain, has been charged with serious criminal offences by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The charges, which include conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe, were announced on Thursday and stem from a multi-year investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) into GVC’s historical, grey-market business in Turkey. The alleged offences took place between 2011 and 2018, a period of explosive, acquisition-fuelled growth for the company under Alexander’s leadership.

The Investigation and the Accused

The CPS has confirmed that a total of 11 individuals have been charged in what HMRC described as a “complex and international investigation.” The list of accused reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the old GVC leadership.

Alongside Alexander, former GVC Chairman Lee Feldman has also been charged with offences including conspiracy to defraud and bribery. In a further development, Robert Hoskin, who served as Entain’s chief governance officer until 2023, has been charged with perverting the course of justice in February 2024.

From Corporate Penalty to Individual Accountability

This move to prosecute individuals marks the second, and arguably more significant, chapter in the long-running saga. It follows the landmark £585 million Deferred Prosecution Agreement ( DPA) that Entain (the corporate entity) agreed with the CPS in November 2023.

That settlement resolved the corporate liability for the company’s failure to have adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery in its former Turkish-facing business, which it sold in 2017. At the time, it was made clear that the DPA did not grant immunity to any individuals. The charges announced today show that UK authorities are now pursuing the senior executives they hold personally responsible for the alleged misconduct.

A Long Shadow Over the Industry

The decision to bring criminal charges against the architects of one of the industry’s biggest-ever success stories will send shockwaves through boardrooms across the sector. It’s a powerful statement from UK law enforcement that corporate settlements don’t necessarily shield executives from facing personal criminal liability for historical failings.

The case will now be watched with intense interest by the entire industry as a key test of individual accountability for the C-suite in the global gambling world.