Entain faces fine over Turkish gaming business

Ladbrokes owner Entain has revealed it expects to be hit by a large fine by UK authorities over historic corporate misconduct at its former Turkish online gaming business.

Entain said on Wednesday it expected an investigation by the UK tax authority and the public prosecutor to result in a “substantial financial penalty”, but it said it could not estimate the size of the fine yet. The gambling group added it was co-operating with HMRC and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The HMRC investigation, which was first disclosed by Entain in 2019, relates to “potential corporate offending” at the gambling giant’s former Turkish subsidiary that it owned between 2011 and 2017.

The offences uncovered by the probe largely relate to section 7 of the bribery act, Entain said. Initially, the HMRC investigation focused on wrongdoing by third-party suppliers of Entain’s Turkish arm over payment processing, but it was widened in 2020 to encompass entities and former employees within the group. 

HMRC and the CPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.