Entain: HMRC and CPS Turkey bribery case, the 2023 DPA, Gambling Commission penalties and 2025 charges
Entain: HMRC and CPS Turkey bribery case, the 2023 DPA, Gambling Commission penalties and 2025 charges: a public-record watch file compiled by Falling Shares Intelligence from filings and exchange disclosures, as of 2026-11-09. HMRC began investigating the former Turkish-facing business in 2019 and widened the probe to failure-to-prevent-bribery offences in July 2020.
From HMRC's investigation of the former Turkish-facing business to the £585m deferred prosecution agreement of December 2023, the 2022 Gambling Commission penalty and the August 2025 charges against 11 individuals.
Falling Shares Intelligence, Edited by Wung Thomas, Editor-in-Chief. As of .
Summary
- HMRC began investigating the former Turkish-facing business in 2019 and widened the probe to failure-to-prevent-bribery offences in July 2020.
- On 5 December 2023 the court approved the CPS's first deferred prosecution agreement: £585m penalty and disgorgement, a £20m donation and £10m costs, with no conviction of the company.
- In August 2022 the Gambling Commission imposed a then-record £17m penalty for anti-money laundering and safer gambling failings, unrelated to Turkey.
- On 28 August 2025 the CPS authorised charges against 11 individuals; Entain is not a defendant.
Key figures
| DPA penalty and disgorgement | £585m (£465m penalty plus £120m disgorgement, plus £20m donation and £10m costs) |
|---|---|
| DPA approved | 5 Dec 2023 (Four-year term from the court's declaration) |
| Gambling Commission penalty | £17m (17 Aug 2022, a record at the time) |
The HMRC investigation and the deferred prosecution agreement
HMRC investigation opens and widens
HMRC began investigating Entain's legacy Turkish-facing business in 2019, and on 20 July 2020 widened the probe to offences under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010, failure to prevent bribery. The business had been sold by a former management team in 2017. (2019 and 20 Jul 2020)
Provision and agreement in principle
Entain set aside £585m for the potential liability in August 2023, after talks with the CPS opened in May 2023. An in-principle deferred prosecution agreement was announced on 24 November 2023. (Aug and 24 Nov 2023)
Court approves the DPA
The CPS agreed a DPA with Entain on a draft indictment of four counts under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010. The terms were a £465m financial penalty and £120m disgorgement, paid in 48 monthly instalments, a £20m charitable payment, and £10m towards CPS and HMRC costs, with no tax deduction. The court approved it on 5 December 2023, the first DPA agreed by the CPS. (5 Dec 2023)
Ongoing DPA obligations
The DPA runs for four years. Entain must cooperate with the CPS and other agencies, exit gambling markets that are not yet regulated within 12 months of the court's declaration (with listed exceptions for markets in the course of regulation), commission external compliance reviews by PwC, and not publicly contradict the Statement of Facts. The agreement does not protect any present or former director, officer, employee or agent from prosecution. (5 Dec 2023 (four-year term))
Individual charges and the Gambling Commission
CPS charges 11 individuals
The CPS authorised charges against 11 people following the HMRC investigation: ten over alleged conduct relating to gambling services in Turkey between 2011 and 2018, including former senior executives of the company then called GVC, and one over alleged perverting of the course of justice linked to the investigation. Entain is not a defendant. Offences charged include conspiracy to bribe, conspiracy to defraud and fraudulent trading. (28 Aug 2025)
Investor claims against Entain
The Solicitors Journal reports that the High Court ordered a split trial in claims by more than 100 institutional and retail investors against Entain under sections 90 and 90A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, with aggregate claims above £1.6bn, represented by two claimant groups. (1 Jul 2026)
Gambling Commission penalty of £17m
The Gambling Commission required Entain to pay a then-record £17m: £14m for LC International, which runs online brands, and £3m for Ladbrokes Betting and Gaming, over anti-money laundering and responsible gambling failings between December 2019 and October 2020. Entain had paid £5.9m in 2019 for similar failings. The Commission added licence conditions and its chief executive warned that further failings could lead to revocation. (17 Aug 2022)
Outcomes favourable to the company
No conviction; cooperation credit
Under the DPA the prosecution is suspended and, if Entain complies, the CPS will not continue it. A law-firm summary reports a 50% discount on the penalty for cooperation and admissions and a change in senior management and approach. The chairman said Entain had cooperated extensively and proactively and had fundamentally changed. (5 Dec 2023)
Standard
This file compiles prosecutor and court documents, regulator statements, company statements and published reporting about Entain plc. Allegations are attributed to those who made them. An investigation is not a charge, a charge is not a finding, and nothing here is a finding of wrongdoing unless a competent authority has made one. The company resolved the HMRC investigation through a deferred prosecution agreement under which it was not convicted, and the individuals charged in 2025 are presumed innocent. Individuals are not named unless an official document names them and they are central; otherwise roles are used. This is news coverage for information only, not investment advice.
Right of reply
Entain plc, and anyone named in a record cited here, can send corrections or comments to info@fallingshares.com (or directly to the Editor-in-Chief, Wung Thomas, at wungthomas@fallingshares.com). Material responses will be published alongside the relevant entry.