Ex-GVC CEO Kenny Alexander’s Criminal Trial to Begin in February 2028

Former executives from the operator now known as Entain, including ex-CEO Kenny Alexander, will face trial in the UK in February 2028 for charges including conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe.

Charges explained

Alexander appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Monday morning as part of plea and trial preparation proceedings, where it was decided by His Honour Judge Baumgartner to arraign until a later date.

Alexander and 10 other individuals are charged by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) with alleged offences related to operations in Turkey carried out by GVC Holdings between 2011 and 2018. GVC changed its name to Entain Group in 2020. No pleas were given during the session.

Seven individuals, including Alexander, are charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe. Charges made against the other four executives involved in the case include fraudulent trading, fraudulent evasion of income tax, and perverting the course of justice.

Case to play out in 2028 and 2029

Three trials will take place, with the first involving Alexander and another group of executives including former GVC Chairman Lee Feldman. That trial will commence on February 14, 2028 and is set to last for four months, on the provision the defendants do not plead guilty to all charges.

The second hearing will begin in October 2028. In that trial, payments industry executives Alexander MacAngus and Richard Raubitscheck-Smith, as well as Raymond Smart, Finance Director at Inteliqo Ltd., will be tried. MacAngus is charged with conspiracy to defraud, while Raubitscheck-Smith and Smart are charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe.

The third and final hearing will commence on March 5, 2029 and will focus on Robert Hoskin, former Group Director of Legal Regulatory & Secretariat at GVC, who is charged with perverting the course of justice.

In Monday’s session, representatives for the defence questioned the evidence that is expected to be put forward by the CPS, with one executive describing it as a “blizzard of material.” Judge Baumgartner encouraged both sides to discuss the volume of the evidence being presented.

There had been a possibility the case could be moved to Leeds Crown Court, with the prosecution arguing many of the alleged crimes took place in the north of England. Judge Baumgartner ruled the case would remain at Southwark Crown Court however, stating disruption to the case could cause “great cost for the public purse.”

Background to the case

In 2017, GVC disposed of its Turkish business. In 2023, Entain entered into a £615 million deferred prosecution agreement to settle HM Revenue & Customs’ investigation into the company, which focused on GVC’s alleged bribery offences that are said to have primarily occurred in Turkey. As part of the settlement, Entain agreed to pull out of unregulated gaming markets.

Alexander was CEO of GVC between 2007 and 2020. During that time, the company made a number of notable acquisitions of sports betting and iGaming operators, including those of BwinParty in 2016 for £1.1 billion, and Ladbrokes Coral for £4 billion in a deal which completed in 2018. Alexander left GVC in July 2020, shortly before the company changed its name to Entain in December 2020.

When the charges against the 11 executives were confirmed by the CPS in August, Entain made clear “the company has not been charged and none of the individuals charged are currently employed by the company or its group.”