Ladbrokes owner GVC faces probe by UK tax authority

21 July 2020

Ladbrokes owner GVC has said it is "surprised" the UK's tax body is expanding a query into "prospective corporate upseting" related to its previous Turkish online gambling system.

It said HM Revenue & Customs had broadened its probe into providers GVC utilized in Turkey to include other entities within its group.

GVC sold its Turkish service in December 2017.

The business said it was co-operating with investigation.

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GVC were notified of the advancement on Monday, however said it had yet to be notified of which of its subsidiaries were being investigated.

It said it was "surprised by the decision to extend the yohaig code investigation in this promotion code way and are disappointed by the absence of clarity provided by HMRC regarding the scope of its examination".

"HMRC has not yet supplied details of the nature of the historical conduct it is investigating, with the exception of a referral to section 7 Bribery Act 2010, nor has it clarified which part of the GVC group is under investigation."

Section 7 states that a business organisation is guilty of an offense if a person connected with that company bribes another person to acquire or retain company, or to obtain or keep an advantage in the conduct of service.

GVC's share price was down 10.6% to 778.2 p on Tuesday following the news.

The UK Gambling Commission told the BBC that it was "helping" with the examination.

HMRC declined to comment.

In July 2019, GVC was forced to deny reports that it was still gaining from its former Turkish subsidiary, stressing that it no longer had ties with the yohaig code company.

"The board re-iterates the reality that subsequent to the disposal of the group's Turkish-facing company, GVC has no activity either straight or indirectly linked to the Turkish market," GVC said.

"Furthermore, the board likewise categorically refutes recommendations that the group, or senior management, continue to take advantage of any operations servicing the Turkish market."

Liz Coleman, former HMRC tax inspector and consultant of advisory firm Integrated Dispute Resolution, stated the examination might go on for a long time.

"HMRC investigations are generally lengthy and thinking about the size of GVC it could be going on for years, although if there's a targeted method it might be shorter," she stated.

"They need to evaluate all the computer records too, so this promotion code might include much more time."

The HMRC's decision comes just a week after Kenneth Alexander revealed that he was stepping down as GVC's president.

Mr Alexander took control of in 2007 and manage the company's acquisitions of competitors Ladbrokes Coral and Bwin.party.

GVC reported a 22% drop in total net earnings for the 2nd quarter this promotion code year due to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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