SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Sportech PLC has issued a statement announcing that its ongoing appeal against VAT repayment on its ‘Spot the Ball’ competition, will be held on the 2 November of this year.
In September 2014, The Football pools, betting and racing operator had been ordered to pay back a £93 million (€115 million) tax rebate after the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) won its appeal against a VAT overpayment claim made by the operator.
Sportech had originally made the claim back in March 2009 for a £40m refund for VAT paid in error on Spot the Ball in the period from 1979 to 1996.
On January 13, Sportech PLC was granted permission to appeal to the UK Court of Appeal in relation to the VAT repayment claim on its “Spot the Ball” game, part of an ongoing battle the company is having with the UK tax authorities over a claims worth more than £90 million.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo in August 2014, Sportech CEO Ian Penrose stated that the company had taken a pragmatic view on the case.
“We have had to run this business for the past five-and-a-half years while this claim has been running without putting any weighting on whether we win or not. There is a possibility we could lose.”
