Bet365 owner donations under political spotlight

UK leader of the Labour Party Ed Miliband’s campaign against tax avoidance may turn on him as a generous benefactor to the Labour Party is said to have saved millions in taxes by operating from Gibraltar.

Peter and Denise Coates’ online gambling firm bet365 is under scrutiny with detractors saying more than a third of its profits come from its British overseas territory-based subsidiary.

bet365 is reported to have saved GBP 13 Million in tax between 2009 and 2011, paying only 10 percent in Gibraltar compared to a steep 28 percent in the United Kingdom at the time.

Generous donations from Peter Coates to the Labour Party are at the centre of the brewing storm with GBP 10 000 donated to Ed Miliband this year and a total of GBP 300 000 donated to the party over the last decade reports The Daily Mail Online.

Miliband’s draft election manifesto carries a priority for the party that is headed “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 [such as Gibraltar] we will expect them to observe the letter and the spirit of the law.”

A bet365 spokesperson told The Daily Mail Online that it was unfair to highlight the tax advantages it enjoys because, unlike its main competitors, it paid UK tax on the majority of its operations, “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.”

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