888 avoid punishment from the Gambling Commission, as the GC chose to take no regulatory action after a a new management takeover plan.
888 Avoid Punishment From Gambling Commission
In July 2023, the Gambling Commission confirmed that there would be a review, which came after FS Gaming were purchasing a stake in 888.
Once the 6.57% stake was finalized, three former Entain executives were set to take charge at 888 and the investigation began to take place.
Kenny Alexander was a huge member of this, financially backing FS Gaming and this proposal would have made him the CEO.
Lee Feldman, former Entain chairman and Stephen Morana, chief financial officer, would have also taken up a similar role.
This would also take the overall stake up to 10%, meaning corporate control would alter and the Commission would have no choice but to step in and review.
The discussions between 888 and FS Gaming came to an end, as they deemed them to have ‘no reasonable prospect of being approved’ – which would damage it UK Licences.
In a surprising turn, 888 released a statement on March 22nd that confirmed no action will be taken by the commission.
888 said: “The Commission has concluded the licence review without imposing any licence conditions, financial penalties or other remedies on the group after being satisfied that the risk to the licensing objectives under the Gambling Act that led to the review have been appropriately managed and adequately mitigated.”
The case links back to HMRC’s investigation with GVC, known as Entain now after a business rebrand in 2020 and the former Turkish organization.
888 revealed that FS gaming were not able to give “basic reassurances that addressed these concerns” and made the regulator began its review under Section 116 (2)(c)(ii) of the Gambling Act 2005.
HMRC settled the case with the Crown Prosecution Service following a strict review and Entian paid a hefty penalty of around £585 million – also donating £20m to charity.
888 didn’t reveal if this had any sway on the Commission’s final conclusion to avoid taking any regulatory action after its review.
