GVC Issues Statement over Press Speculation concerning HMRC Investigation

By Simon Wright, Last updated Feb 4, 2021

GVC Holdings the owners and operators of well known high street and online brands in the world of betting and iGaming, which include the likes of Ladbrokes Coral and BWin, have this morning released a statement addressing press speculation concerning the ongoing HMRC investigation into the company.

On the 21st July we reported how HMRC were investigating GVC Holdings in relation to their Turkish business, which GVC disposed of in 2017. Subsequently there has been speculation in the main stream media as to what areas are under investigation, as HMRC have not been forthcoming with details concerning the full scope of the investigation that they have undertaken.

The Times newspaper has reported that the scope of HMRC’s investigation has widened. With the UK newspaper commenting on a theory put forward by investors, that there may be a link between GVC Holdings and the German payment processor Wirecard, which filed for bankruptcy at the end of June.

In the statement to shareholders addressing the ongoing press speculation, GVC Holdings said the following: “The GVC Board of Directors notes today’s press speculation regarding the HMRC investigation into legacy payment service providers to the Group’s former Turkish-facing business, disposed of in 2017.”

 “HMRC’s investigation relates to former third-party payment service providers whose only legacy link to GVC was the provision of services to the Turkish-facing business.  The Board can confirm that it has no evidence of any link between the HMRC investigation and the payment service providers mentioned in the newspaper report.”

 “As announced on 20 July 2020, GVC is fully complying with HMRC’s investigation and will update the market as appropriate. As reported on 16 July 2020 GVC continues to perform strongly and looks forward to sharing more detail regarding its Interim financial results on 13 August 2020.  GVC continues to focus on nationally regulated and regulating markets, from which it generates 96% of its revenues.”

The news of HMRC’s investigation into GVC Holdings came just a couple of days after former Chief Executive Officer Kenny Alexander surprised investors by announcing his immediate departure from the company after 13 years in the role.

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