Betfair commits to Spanish back-tax payment
Operator will make payment of "not more than 10 million".
Betfair has become the latest operator to commit to fulfilling the back-tax requirements set out by the Spanish Tax Authority ahead of the country’s General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) issuing egaming licences.
The exchange betting operator, which launched its fixed-odds sportsbook in the UK today, claims to have satisfied all requirements set out by the tax authorities and will pay “not more than 10m”, having begun paying a 25% gross gaming revenue tax in May 2011, the month in which Spain’s gambling act was published in the country’s State Gazette.
Its outlay is lower than that of Sportingbet (17m) and bwin.party (33m), the two other London-listed operators to have published details of their payments (and those which reportedly hold the largest market share in the Spanish egaming sector), while Ladbrokes – which holds a small market share – also claims to have “reached a settlement” with the tax office.
Other operators, including 888 and PokerStars, confirmed to eGaming Review yesterday that they are in discussions with the relevant authorities, after it had been feared that the threat of significant back-tax payments could drive operators out of the dot.es market.
In an exclusive interview with eGR, DGOJ general director Enrique Alejo confirmed that, while the issuing of licences was “completely separate” from the ongoing back-tax disputes, the regulator could yet be forced to deny companies licences on the basis of the tax authority’s instructions.
Betfair’s payment comes just days before the planned issuing of Spanish egaming licences on 1 June, itself just ahead of the extended 30 June deadline.
The operator has confirmed that – if it is among those to be approved in the first wave of licences next month – players will be transferred over to its fixed-odds sportsbook until exchange licences are issued.
It explains in a statement that: “The regulation of betting exchanges is specifically provided for in primary legislation and the Spanish regulator has recently reiterated the intention to regulate exchanges and slots in a second wave of licensing, the process for which is expected to begin once the initial licences are issued.”