888 Holdings will not face any action from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) after the regulator concluded its review of the gambling company’s license.
group of former Entain executives was trying to take control of 888
The investigation began in July after a collection of investors led by Kenneth Alexander called FS Gaming built up a 6.6% stake in the company. The group of former Entain executives was trying to take control of 888, which would have resulted in the UKGC having to approve or reject the change.
If the UKGC decided to not sign off on the new structure, 888 would have lost its UK license and the company wasn’t willing to take that chance, which ended the discussions with FS Gaming.
888 released a statement on Friday confirming that no issues would arise from the UKGC’s inquiry and the regulator was satisfied that the management proposal was no longer under consideration.
One of the main concerns with FS Gaming was the role that the executives played in an HMRC bribery probe into the operations of GVC Holdings, now Entain, in Turkey. This case led to Entain agreeing to pay a £585m ($738m) financial penalty.