Former BetCity owners lodge counter claim against Entain

The Singels family and former execs claim that Entain knew about regulatory issues facing the Dutch gambling operator.

The Netherlands.- The former owners of BetCity have lodged a counterclaim against Entain following the UK gambling giant’s lawsuit over its acquisition of the Dutch gambling brand. 

Entain argues that Sports Entertainment BV and its founders, the Singels family, failed to declare regulatory breaches that led to a €3m fine from the Dutch gambling regulator, the KSA after Entain’s acquisition of BetEnt.nl. It says that the price it paid should have been €68m-to-€156m less as a result.

However, a counterclaim submitted by members of the Singels family along with former CEO Melvin Bostelaar and marketing director Robert Kooiman argues that Entain was aware of the KSA’s investigations and that their earn-out was impacted by changes Entain made after the acquisition.

They say that Entain was informed of the investigations in emails and telephone conversations in November and December 2023 and in a meeting on 17 November 2022, all before the deal was completed in January 2023.

The counterclaim filed with the High Court of Justice in England and Wales also seeks €143m from Entain Holdings (Netherlands) BV and Entain Holdings (UK) Limited. The plaintiffs argue that changes in operations made by Entain following the appointment of Vic Walia as CEO resulted in BetCity earning €22m less than what was forecast as part of the earn-out for the former owners, resulting in a loss of €83m.

Entain claims that the changes were necessary because  BetCity was still in breach of Dutch law after the acquisition, something the former owners deny.