William Hill’s owner 888 warns its licence to operate is ‘under review’
Gambling group 888, owners of the William Hill betting chain, has said its licence to operate in the UK is under review by the regulator.
The online gambling and betting shop owner said the review centred on concerns about a new shareholder’s links to a bribery investigation being carried out by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The licence was under review in relation to a 6.6 per cent stake in 888 acquired by FS Gaming Investment, a group of investors said to include former executives at GVC, the gambling group now known as Entain.
FS Gaming were pushing to appoint new board directors including Lee Feldman, Kenny Alexander and Stephen Morana as chair, chief executive and chief financial officer. All three are former board members of Entain, which is embroiled in an investigation into possible bribery offences abroad.
888 said it had spoken to the GB Gambling Commission (GBGC) about the leadership proposals and concluded any board reshuffle would put its licences to operate in the UK “at immediate and significant risk”.
It said it had “no option” but to end all talks with the investors over the leadership shake-up, after the gaming watchdog warned its UK gambling licence could be revoked.
888 said it had sought clarification from FS Gaming over questions raised by the Gambling Commission “but the most basic assurances that addressed these concerns were not forthcoming.”
Lord Mendelsohn, 888’s chair, said: “As a board we devoted significant time to considering FS Gaming’s proposal. However, following in-depth regulatory due diligence including engaging closely with the GBGC, the board had no option but to terminate discussions as it simply could not put licences in our largest market at significant risk.
“While this engagement temporarily interrupted the very thorough search process to appoint a new CEO [chief executive officer], the board is finalising its appointment and expects to make an announcement in the very near future.”
The gambling group has been searching for a new chief executive since its former boss, Itai Pazner, left in January after launching an internal investigation into the firm’s money-laundering checks for Middle Eastern high-value gamblers.
Mr Alexander, through GVC, created Entain through a series of acquisitions which swallowed household names like Ladbrokes and Coral.
The gambling regulator reportedly expressed concerns regarding an ongoing HM Revenue and Customs investigation into GVC’s activities.
Entain has told shareholders it is in talks with the Crown Prosecution Service about a bribery allegation involving former third-party suppliers and employees.
A Gambling Commission spokesman said the watchdog does not comment on individual operators or whether they’re under investigation.
In a statement FS Gaming said: “We were completely surprised by 888’s statement and perplexed by how the company has orchestrated this as we remain relatively small public shareholders with no access to any non-public information and we were engaged in dialogue regarding the best strategy to maximise the value of these world-class assets.
“We will continue those efforts.”
Earlier this year the Gambling Commission fined William Hill a record £19m penalty for a “widespread and alarming” failure to protect its customers. The regulator said the fine was levied against three companies owned by William Hill for allowing some customers to lose thousands of pounds within minutes, without adequate checks being carried out.
