Gambling giant GVC Holdings is reporting that they've been handed a back tax bill by the government of Greece for a whopping €186.77 million related to activity in the market by subsidiary Sportingbet from 2011 to 2011.
The bill was handed down from the Greek Audit Center for Large Enterprises, and comes from Sportingbet from before GVC had purchased the company from William Hill. For their part, GVC claims that the tax bill is higher by multiple times than what the company even brought in during the period in question. The company feels that the tax bill isn't fair, and is disputing but will pay money into an account that will be paid out if the appeal fails.
Speaking to the Financial Times an anonymous GVC official called the bill "a spurious and opportunistic claim made on the background of a Greek government desperate to pay its debts to the [International Monetary Fund]."
This case will likely take some time to resolve, and we'll update readers as we learn more about how it plays out.w
Comments
Yeah, that's one of the reasons I don't own a casino/sportsbook in Greece 🙂
Tax fee really looks crazy but I guess GVC lawyers will succeed at least reduced that in court.