Investors in BetMGM Parent Company Entain Demand £100million in Compensation

Legal firm, Fox Williams, announced intentions to lodge a substantial group litigation claim against Entain, which is the parent company of Ladbrokes.

Investors are seeking over £100million in compensation, citing bribery and corruption issues at the entity formerly governing Ladbrokes' Turkish operations.

In the U.S., Entain jointly owns the BetMGM sports betting app along with MGM Resorts International.

The cause is alleged "failure to report honestly" and follows Entain agreeing to pay up £585million in punishments and disgorgement of profits subsequent to a probe by HM Revenue & Customs.

HMRC had been probing Entain over activities at the Turkish-facing business that it sold in 2017. The GVC Group would later be rebranded as Entain.

Entain was accused of falling short on implementing suitable procedures to deter bribery.

The company admitted to wrongdoing back in 2019 and promised corrective measures. 

A company statement read in part: "GVC acknowledges and regrets that certain legacy systems and processes in place in the Ladbrokes and Coral operations during the period 2014-2017 did not adequately meet the regulatory requirements in respect to social responsibility and anti-money laundering (“AML”) safeguards."

Entain CEO, Kenneth Alexander released a statement following the punitive measures: “Soon after the acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral following meetings and ongoing enquiries by the Gambling Commission, it became clear to GVC that there had been historic compliance failures within certain areas of the operations. Working closely with the Gambling Commission and an independent firm of solicitors, GVC facilitated a thorough, prompt and far-reaching investigation, which has led to today’s settlement. These historical failings were unacceptable and since the acquisition, I have overseen a systematic review of the enlarged Group’s player protection procedures and the individuals responsible for these problems have exited the business. I am confident that, we now have in place a robust and industry leading approach to player protection.

Fox Williams' partner and head of the securities litigation team, Andrew Hill said: "This claim will offer institutional investors the opportunity to recover substantial losses but more importantly serve to improve transparency and governance within the UK's gambling sector, reminding public companies that they need to take their disclosure obligations seriously."

"Hopefully this will therefore have the knock-on effect of improving corporate behaviour, because public companies should know that their shareholders won't let them get away with misconduct."

A spokesman for Entain told The Mirror in response to the Fox Williams proposed law suit: "Entain is not aware of any issued claim of this kind against the company. We would defend any such action robustly."