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Ladbrokes owner GVC deals with probe by UK tax authority

21 July 2020
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Ladbrokes owner GVC has stated it is "stunned" the UK's tax body is expanding a query into "possible corporate offending" connected to its previous Turkish online gaming system.

It Revenue & Customs had expanded its probe into suppliers GVC used in Turkey to consist of other entities within its group.

GVC offered its Turkish company in December 2017.

the yohaig code company said it was co-operating with investigation.

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

It said it was "shocked by the choice to extend the investigation in this method and are disappointed by the lack of clearness provided by HMRC regarding the scope of its investigation".

"HMRC has actually not yet offered information of the nature of the historic conduct it is examining, 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 allurements another person to obtain or retain service, or to acquire or retain an advantage in the conduct of business.

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

The UK Gambling Commission told the BBC that it was "assisting" with the investigation.

HMRC declined to comment.

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

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

"Furthermore, the board likewise unconditionally refutes tips that the group, or senior management, continue to benefit from any operations servicing the Turkish market."
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Liz Coleman, previous HMRC tax inspector and expert of advisory firm Integrated Dispute Resolution, said the examination could go on for a long time.
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"HMRC examinations are generally prolonged and considering the size of GVC it might be going on for many years, although if there's a targeted method it might be shorter," she stated.
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"They have to analyse all the computer system records too, so this might add even 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 over in 2007 and oversaw the business's acquisitions of competitors Ladbrokes Coral and Bwin.party.

GVC reported a 22% drop in overall net revenues for the second quarter this year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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