Ladbrokes and Coral owner to pay ₤ 585m over bribery accusations

5 December 2023

ByEsyllt Carr
Business reporter, BBC News

Gambling giant Entain will pay HMRC ₤ 585m to settle over bribery claims connecting to a Turkish firm that it formerly owned.

The settlement was approved by the Royal Courts of Justice in a hearing on Tuesday.

Entain, which owns Ladbrokes, will also make a charitable donation of ₤ 20m and pay towards the expenses of the case.

Its chairman added that the group had actually "profoundly altered" since the sale.

The payments become part of a postponed prosecution contract (DPA), that will be made in instalments over the next 4 years.

The contract enables a prosecution to be suspended for a defined period provided the organisation fulfills certain specific conditions.

DPAs can be used for fraud, bribery and other economic crime. They apply to organisations, never ever individuals. The DPA is one of the biggest business criminal settlements ever reached in the UK and the first for the CPS.

Entain will also make a contribution of ₤ 10m towards the costs sustained by HMRC and the Crown Prosecution Service throughout the case.

The examination by HMRC involved a Turkish-facing company that was sold by the Group in 2017. the yohaig code probe included the activities of previous staff members and former 3rd party suppliers.

In specific, it was looking at accusations that Entain, which was then called GVC, stopped working to have sufficient procedures in location to prevent bribery.

Ever since, Entain says the group has undertaken a detailed evaluation of its anti-bribery policies and procedures.

In a declaration, Barry Gibson, Entain's chairman, said: "this promotion code is the last step in a procedure that has hung over our company given that HMRC launched its investigation into a service that was sold by a previous management team 6 years earlier."

"We have co-operated thoroughly and proactively at every phase of the procedure which, I am happy to state, has been recognised by the Court," he included.

"Entain has now fundamentally and exceptionally altered. We can now focus on the future."

Gambling levy could raise ₤ 100m for NHS treatment

17 October 2023

William Hill let bettor bet ₤ 23,000 in 20 minutes