High Court finds in favour of Betfair over Levy
Judicial review, instigated by William Hill last year, finds in favour of exchange operator in dispute over its liability for Levy payments.
Betfair has welcomed a High Court ruling that exchange betting operators are not liable for Horse Racing Levy payments.
The findings, following a judicial review instigated by William Hill last year, are described by Betfair’s head of legal and regulatory affairs Martin Cruddace as having “Vindicated the position of Betfair”.
“It is now neither sustainable nor rational to argue that Betfair customers should be liable to pay the Levy any more than should customers of any other betting operator,” added Cruddace, noting that “It is ironic that William Hill’s online business pays not a penny in Levy itself, despite making tens of millions of pounds in profits annually from British Racing. Yet still, it chose to argue that an undefined class of exchange customers should be required to pay Levy.”
William Hill initially brought about the review in September 2011, with the Horseracing Levy Board backing the position of Betfair, and the former has today seen its claim officially rejected. This is in keeping with a consultation carried out by the board in 2010-11.
The decision comes just weeks after Betfair entered into a landmark commercial agreement with British Racing, worth £40m over a five-year term. The British Horseracing Authority “ part of British Racing “ had previously sided with William Hill over its High Court claim but following the signature of the agreement Hills proceeded alone with the process.
Cruddace said: “The savings made by William Hill through Levy avoidance may help fund poorly advised legal challenges such as this one, but I would suggest that their resources would be better spent working with British Racing to reach a commercial agreement in a similar vein to the one Betfair recently signed with the sport.”
William Hill has yet to make an official statement on the outcome, however Betfair’s press office has stated on Twitter that “Hills [has] been refused leave to appeal.”