Ladbrokes owner GVC faces probe by UK tax authority

21 July 2020

Ladbrokes owner GVC has said it is "shocked" the UK's tax body is widening a questions into "possible corporate offending" related to its previous Turkish online betting unit.

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

GVC offered its Turkish organization in December 2017.

The business stated it was co-operating with investigation.

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GVC were notified of the yohaig code development on Monday, however stated it had yet to be notified of which of its subsidiaries were being examined.

It said it was "amazed by the decision to extend the examination in this promotion code way and are disappointed by the lack of clarity provided by HMRC as to the scope of its investigation".

"HMRC has not yet supplied details of the nature of the yohaig code historical conduct it is examining, with the exception of a reference to area 7 Bribery Act 2010, nor has it clarified which part of the GVC group is under examination."

Section 7 states that a commercial organisation is guilty of an offense if an individual associated with that business allurements another person to acquire or maintain business, or to acquire or keep a benefit in the conduct of organization.

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

The UK Gambling Commission informed the BBC that it was "assisting" with the examination.

HMRC decreased to comment.

In July 2019, GVC was forced to reject reports that it was still benefiting from its former Turkish subsidiary, worrying that it no longer had ties with the service.

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

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

Liz Coleman, former HMRC tax inspector and expert of advisory company Integrated Dispute Resolution, stated the investigation might go on for a long time.

"HMRC investigations are normally prolonged and thinking about the size of GVC it could be going on for many years, although if there's a targeted method it might be much shorter," she said.

"They have to analyse all the computer records too, so this promotion code might include a lot more time."

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

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

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

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