Bwin.party digital entertainment has agreed to pay a hefty backdated tax bill to comply with the country’s original gaming industry laws. The company will pay up €33 million so that they can obtain a licence under the new regime with the expectation they will start handing them out on June 1. A tax self-assessment completed under the Spanish Tax Authority’s rules identified a payment of €25.6 million plus surcharges and interest of up to €8 million. All companies that took bets between now and the late 60s and 70s will be subject to the charge under two laws and it brings them in line with the charges paid by land-based operators.
Betfair is on the verge of launching their fixed odds betting in conjunction with OpenBet. The Daily Telegraph reports the service will be up and running later this summer and the aim is it will limit the loss of customers to traditional bookmakers offering in play and “ante-post” wagers. Nick Hagen, Betfair’s sports operations director, explained: “We know from our own research that we lose 30pc of our customers’ sports betting wallet to the competition. Why should customers have to go elsewhere and why would we willingly let this large chunk of business walk out the door?” The service has undergone testing in Cyprus and Ivor Jones, analyst at Numis, said it will “dramatically expand the range of bets available”.
France’s football league has signed a new agreement that will see content broadcast across a number of digital channels. The digital media rights agreement, reported by Gaming Intelligence, is for four years and covers goals, highlights and interviews from Ligue 1 matches. Dailymotion.com, L’Equipe.fr and YouTube will all carry the package and it begins with the 2012/13 season.
