England - London • Crime, fraud and licensing
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Gaming and betting

Harris Hagan

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Described as a ‘market leader in gaming law’ Harris Hagan maintains a strong position in the market acting on big-ticket corporate transactions, Gambling Commission compliance investigations and licence reviews. The team is instructed by major land-based and online gambling businesses, start-ups, governments and trade associations. John Hagan co-heads the practice and frequently contributes his licensing and regulatory expertise to transactional mandates. Fellow co-head Bahar Alaeddini is also General Counsel of the International Association of Gaming Advisors and co-chairs its Programme Committee. David Whyte frequently advises on enforcement action taken by the Gambling Commission, while Jessica Wilson is a key contact for US based operators and suppliers.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The team is very knowledgeable about UK gambling laws and engaging with the regulator.’

  • ‘The individuals at Harris Hagan have a deep knowledge of not just the British gambling laws, but also of the way in which the regulator operates.’

  • ‘In-depth knowledge of gambling licensing in terms of regulations and how they are implemented.’

  • ‘There's no one else to go to other than Harris Hagan for everything gaming. One stop shop for all your needs. They deliver trust, confidence and integrity.’

  • ‘Bahar Alaeddini and Jessica Wilson get full marks.’

  • ‘Market leader in gaming law.’

  • ‘John Hagan, Julian Harris and Bahar Alaeddini are prominent leaders in the gaming law field’

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Work highlights

  • Acting on numerous operating licence reviews of high-profile and international B2C gambling operators.
  • Acting on numerous Commission compliance investigations

Lawyers

Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
John Hagan
Hall of fameHarris Hagan
Managing Partner John co-founded Harris Hagan with Julian Harris in May 2004.  Specialising in all aspects of online and land-based gambling law, and with over 20 years’ of gambling law experience, John is recognised as a leading gambling lawyer by operators, suppliers and regulators throughout the world. He advises many of the world’s largest land-based and online gambling businesses (B2C and B2B), as well as many start-ups, investors and leading law firms. John has extensive gambling legal, regulatory and licensing experience advising on legal classification, non-remote and remote operating licence applications, casino competitions and premises licensing, personal applications, change of corporate control applications, transaction due diligence, corporate investments and transactions, complex group restructuring and the rationalisation of group licences. He also has extensive compliance and enforcement experience advising on general compliance and reporting requirements, compliance assessments, regulatory investigations, corporate evaluations, operating and personal licence reviews, and developing associated remedial compliance programmes and action plans. John is a regular conference speaker and contributor to industry and specialist legal publications.
Julian Harris
Hall of fameHarris Hagan
Consultant and Founder Julian co-founded Harris Hagan with John Hagan in May 2004. He came to specialise in this sector representing the Gaming Board for Great Britain (the then British regulator) for five years early in his career. Specialising in all aspects of online and land-based gambling law, and with over 30 years’ experience of gambling law, Julian is recognised as a leading gambling lawyer by operators, suppliers and regulators throughout the world. He advises many of the world’s largest land-based and online gambling businesses (B2C and B2B), as well as many start-ups, investors and leading law firms. Julian has extensive gambling legal, regulatory and licensing experience advising on legal classification, non-remote and remote operating licence applications, casino competitions and premises licensing, personal applications, change of corporate control applications, transaction due diligence, corporate investments and transactions, complex group restructuring and the rationalisation of group licences. He also has extensive compliance and enforcement experience advising on general compliance and reporting requirements, compliance assessments, regulatory investigations, corporate evaluations, operating and personal licence reviews and developing associated remedial compliance programmes and action plans. Julian has also advised a number of government and regulatory authorities on the drafting of gambling legislation (primary and secondary). Julian is a regular conference speaker and contributor to industry and specialist legal publications.  He is also co-editor of Chambers Global Practice Guide to Gambling and Thomson Reuters Practical Law Global Guide to Gaming Law and co-author of the UK chapter of the same publications. Julian is recognised by The Legal 500 as “highly experienced” and his “knowledge in the UK market is highly regarded and he is the go-to option for this field”.
Hilary Stewart-Jones
Hall of fameHarris Hagan
Consultant Hilary is a consultant and advises many of the world’s largest land-based and online gambling businesses (B2C and B2B), as well as many start-ups, investors and leading law firms.  Hilary has extensive gambling legal, regulatory and licensing experience advising on legal classification, non-remote and remote operating licence applications, premises licensing, personal applications, change of corporate control applications, transaction due diligence, corporate investments and transactions, complex group restructuring and the rationalisation of group licences.  She also has extensive compliance and enforcement experience advising on general compliance and reporting requirements, compliance assessments, regulatory investigations, corporate evaluations, operating and personal licence reviews, and developing associated remedial compliance programmes and action plans. Hilary is a frequent conference speaker and contributor to industry publications; she is a contributing editor to the ICLG to Gambling since 2014, and contributor to Smith and Monkcom: The Law of Gambling (Fourth Edition).  She has also drafted gambling legislation (secondary and primary) for the Isle of Man and Curacao. Hilary is recognised by The Legal 500 as “probably the most predominant lawyer in the gambling and i-gaming space.”  Another source adds: “She cares deeply and will fight hard for her clients.” 
Leading associates
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
David Whyte
Harris Hagan
Partner Before joining Harris Hagan in September 2019 as a Senior Associate, David worked in-house at a large land-based casino operator and as General Counsel for an online operator, gaining first-hand experience of both sectors and the commercial needs of operators. Prior to moving in-house, David trained and worked at the Gambling Commission for nine years in both the enforcement and legal departments. This provided him with a unique insight into the regulatory framework in Great Britain. Specialising in all aspects of online and land-based gambling law, David advises land-based and online gambling businesses (B2C and B2B), as well as many start-ups. He advises on legal classification, non-remote and remote licence applications, personal applications, advertising requirements, terms and conditions, data protection, general compliance and reporting requirements, compliance assessments, regulatory investigations, corporate evaluations, operating and personal licence reviews, and developing associated remedial compliance programmes and action plans
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

John Hagan, Bahar Alaeddini

Other key lawyers

Hilary Stewart-Jones, Julian Harris, David Whyte, Francesca Burnett-Hall, Jessica Wilson, Gemma Boore

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