888 HOLDINGS CLARIFIES SPANISH TAX IT WILL PAY


Thursday May 24, 2012 :  888 HOLDINGS CLARIFIES SPANISH TAX IT WILL PAY
 
It's beginning to look as if all the big guns are resigned to paying the Spanish back-tax.
 
Amid speculation by some analysts that it's tax bill for Spain could go as high as $20 million, a 888 Holdings source told the Reuters news agency this week that in fact it will be less than half that.
 
888, along with other industry giants like Bwin.Party, Sportingbet and Betfair have all indicated they are prepared to pay up to the Spanish taxman in return for operating licenses in the new regulatory dispensation starting June 1st.
 
Earlier this week, rival Bwin.Party digital said it would pay about $42 million to settle its back-tax bill, while Sportingbet said it had paid $22 million, and Betfair said it would pay not more than $12.6 million.
 
Reuters reports that 888 has around 6 percent of its operations in Spain.