Sportingbet To Pay €17 Million Back Tax In SpainCompany Will Issue Bond To Cover Back Tax Following PartyGaming Settlement |
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Sportingbet Plc has become the second online gaming operator to accept it must pay back taxes in Spain having operated there between January 2009 and May 2012.
The company said yesterday it had self-assessed its liability at €14 million plus up to €3.2 million in surcharges and interest which, it claimed, would, “maximize[s] the likelihood of securing a Spanish eGaming licence,” and that it “expects the payment to qualify the Company for the Spanish eGaming licencing round which is expected to be issued on 1 June 2012.”
It will issue a convertible bond for £15 million on May 25 to cover the cost of the tax bill and says it plans to apply to the Commercial Court in Madrid to quash the current injunction preventing it from operating its Spanish businesses.
Earlier this week bwin.party said it would pay €33 million in back taxes to Spanish authorities in order to help it obtain a gaming licence on June 1.