“I’ve been there, done that – spent a lot of time travelling, being in London and all the rest. So, I decided to retire early,” he told the recruitment and consulting agency on 13 March.
“I’m leaving it to others to carry it on. That said, it’s a fantastic industry. I’d recommend it to anyone. I had an incredible time and don’t regret a thing, but it’s behind me now and I’m happy to let others take the reins.”
Alexander joined the sector in 2000, he took a job with Sportingbet via an ad he spotted in the Racing Post. In 2007 he took the helm at GVC Holdings (now Entain). In 2016 and 2017 the group closed two multi-billion-pound deals to acquire Bwin.Party and Ladbrokes Coral.
Kenny was revered as a leader in the sector throughout the mobile betting boom, helping to turn GVC into a FTSE 250 corporation and one of the leading European operators during his tenure. He retired from GVC in 2020.
But in June 2023, FS Group, an investment vehicle backed by Alexander, took a 6.57% stake in 888. Shortly after that, Alexander, along with Lee Feldman and former Entain CFO Stephen Morana, filed a bid to take over 888 Holdings. But the Gambling Commission intervened and the bid was dismissed.
“It was an exciting experience, especially in the early days when the industry was new, with internet bookmakers just emerging at the time. It was a fast-moving, dynamic sector to be a part of and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it,” Alexander told BettingJobs.
He remains active in the racing space as a horse owner and is embroiled in a couple of active legal cases relating to his time in the industry.
Alexander embroiled in legal cases
In February the Financial Times reported Alexander and former Entain chairman Lee Feldman launched legal action against both Entain and the law firm that represented the operator in the Turkey case.
The pair are suing the two parties for sharing “privileged information” with investigators during the 2019 bribery case involving Entain’s former Turkey business. The Turkey case was settled via a voluntary Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in November 2023.
Entain agreed to pay a financial penalty plus disgorgement of profits totalling £585 million, plus a £20 million charitable donation and £10 million in CPS and HMRC costs.
A separate case was initiated by Alexander and Feldman against the Gambling Commission over claims it misused their private information during the 888 bid.
The two claim to have “suffered damage, distress and embarrassment, as well as the loss of standing, as a result of the misuse of their private information and/or the breaches of confidence” by the Gambling Commission, according to the Racing Post.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/people/kenny-alexander-has-no-plans-to-return-to-gaming-sector/
