GVC may face Canadian lawsuit over dispute with ex-ice hockey pro

GVC Holdings looks set to face a class action lawsuit in Canada due to an ongoing dispute with former professional ice hockey player Doug Honegger.

According to a report in the Evening Standard newspaper, Swiss Honegger claims that GVC owes him money for work he carried out as part of a joint venture with the company.

Honegger said that during 2014 and 2015, he was involved with the running of the firm’s Sportingbet Canadian arm and is now claiming compensation in a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

Honegger has said that he and business partner Barry Alter ran Sportingbet’s day-to-day operations and were given full access to customers’ confidential personal data, betting history and bank details.

GVC has so far rejected the claims, stating that no such agreement was made and it does not owe Honegger any money.

However, Canadian law firm Findlay McCarthy, acting on behalf of Honegger, has put forward a case that could impact thousands of GVC customers in Canada.

The cases argues that if Honegger was not a partner in the venture, GVC was in breach of its gambling licence and Canadian customer protection laws in that it allowed him “unfettered access” to confidential customer information and that all bets places through Sportingbet during the period were unlawful.

Through his 37E business, Honegger said in a statement: “My partner and I reached a joint venture agreement with GVC in 2014.

“The fact that GVC subsequently reneged on that agreement does not change that obvious truth.

“Unfortunately, GVC’s bad faith conduct has forced us to seek legal remedies and we are extremely confident that we will succeed.”

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