Entain seeks compensation over BetCity regulatory probes

Entain says BetCity failed to declare details of the probes before its acquisition.

The Netherlands.- Entain is to seek damages in relation to its acquisition of Dutch gambling operator BetCity last year. It says that it was not provided with details of two investigations that led to fines from the Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).

Entain says that the investigations were already underway when it bought BetCity and that the operator’s former owners knew about them. According to a CasinoNieuws.nl, Entain says that BetCity’s former owners signed affirmations declaring that they were unaware of any regulatory investigations.

Entain paid €450m for BetCity in January 2023 in a move that allowed it to return to the Dutch market, which it had exited ahead of the launch of regulated online gambling in 2021. However, it argues that the price it paid should have been lower due to the regulatory investigation underway.

The acquisition was agreed in June of 2022. However, Entain says that BetCity was informed about one of the KSA investigations in April of the same year. This probe related to promotional emails that were sent to young adults and led to a €400,000 fine in April last year. The KSA is said to have informed BetCity of a second investigation in May 2022. In this case, the probe looked into anti-money laundering and terrorist financing failings and led to a €3m fine.

Entain says it learned of the investigations when press releases were published on the KSA website in November of 2022. It says it asked for a meeting with BetCity to discuss compensation and that BetCity had said it would cover the fines. However, Entain says it reserved the right to make an additional claim, which it did last month. It’s not been revealed how much Entain is seeking in damages.