Bet365 Donations Under Political Investigation

The UK Labour’s big-scale campaign against tax avoidance may turn on them. One of the biggest benefactors of the party operates from Gibraltar and has allegedly saved millions in taxes in the recent years.

UK online betting operator Bet365 owners Peter and Denise Coates are the targets of the scandal.

British gambling news sources estimate that more than one third of Bet365 profits come from its Gibraltar-based subsidiary.

As a result, Bet365 is estimated to have saved GBP 13 million in taxes between 2009 and 2011. The tax in Gibraltar is a mere 10 percent compared to a hefty 28 percent required by British gambling laws at that time.

Peter Coates donated GBP 10,000 to the Labour Party leader Ed Miliband alone this year, with a total of GBP 300m donated to the party in the last decade.

Miliband’s election campaign concentrates on fair taxing, stating: “Labour believes addressing tax avoidance at an individual and corporate level must be a priority,” which details “At home, this means making it plain to the Crown Dependencies (for instance Gibraltar) we will expect them to observe the letter and the spirit of the law.”

A Bet365 spokesperson commented on the case: “Bet365 is the only major online bookmaker that remains licensed in the UK and as such pays more than GBP 130 million in annual taxes to the UK Treasury.”