Spanish taxman refunds MyLotto24

MyLotto24 received a boost to its funds this week when the Spanish taxman refunded the company Euro 9.6 million contributed as a lottery withholding tax on a large jackpot win at the company.

Announcing the refund, parent group Zeal Network said the payment will have a positive impact on the company’s financial metrics relating to the year 2015.

Zeal took the opportunity of the good news announcement on tax to reveal less palatable advice regarding its expensive involvement in the geography-based online lottery Geonomics Global Games Limited and its subsidiary Geo24 UK Limited, concluding that it no longer supports the carrying value of Zeal’s investment.

That will result in a non-cash impairment charge of Euro 19 million, which will be recorded in Zeal’s consolidated income statement for 2015, and this will impact net profit, the company announced.

Zeal (then Tipp24) made an initial investment of Euro 10 million in Geonomics (formerly Roboreus) four years ago, acquiring a 25.7 percent stake, and has been working with founding brothers Henry and James Oakes to try and build a viable business out of the operation, which is based in London and employs 40 designers and software engineers.

Our readers will also recall that Geonomics sold its end-user product to the Atlantic State Lottery Corporation, a lottery organisation representing several small Canadian provinces. The project became mired in a political, tribal and business scandal that eventually saw it dropped.

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