In May 2012 a number of online gaming companies who had applied for a licence to operate in the Spanish market entered into agreements with the Spanish tax authority to pay betting taxes for the period from 1 January 2009 to 27 May 2011 under two laws from 1966 and 1977 respectively that had previously been applied only to offline betting activities.
Unibet has now finalised discussions with the Spanish tax authorities in respect of its previous activities targeting the Spanish market in the period from January 2009 to May 2011.
As a result, Unibet will make a one-off payment, covering betting duties, interest and penalties, of EUR 3.2 million (approximately GBP 2.6 million) and will recognise this as an additional expense in cost of sales in the third quarter ended 30 September 2012.
This is a non-recurring item related to historic activities, as Unibet did not apply for a B2C gaming licence under the new Spanish gaming law and does not currently target the Spanish market.
Kambi, Unibet’s B2B provider, has been awarded a Spanish B2B gaming licence and has already secured contracts with Spanish customers including Acrismatic and Egasa, as previously announced.
For more information:
Inga Lundberg, Investor Relations +44 788 799 6116
About Unibet
Unibet was founded in 1997 and is an online gambling company listed on NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm. Unibet is one of the largest privately-owned gambling operators in the European market and provides services in 27 languages through www.unibet.com, www.unibet.dk, www.unibet.fr, www.unibet.it, www.unibet.be, www.unibet.com.au, www.maria.com and www.mariacasino.dk. Today, Unibet has 6.7 million customers in over 100 countries. Unibet is a member of the EGBA, European Gaming and Betting Association, RGA, Remote Gambling Association in theUK and is audited and certified by eCOGRA in relation to responsible and fair gaming.
More information about Unibet Group plc can be found on www.unibetgroupplc.com