Playtech to pay £25m to Israeli authorities

Playtech has agreed to pay Israeli tax authorities 28 million euros (£25 million) following an audit that probed 10 years of accounts.

The FTSE 250-listed gambling software development company said that, following a civil tax audit covering 2008 to 2017, the country has made “transfer pricing adjustments” relating to Playtech’s activities in Israel.

As a result, Playtech will stump up the cash and no penalties will be imposed as a result of the audit.

The additional tax charge will be reflected as an exceptional item in Playtech’s 2018 accounts and payment is expected to be made in the next 30 days.

The news comes just days after Playtech warned it will take an earnings hit of up to 25 million euros (£22.5 million) in 2019 due to new Italian gambling taxes.

The Italian Senate recently passed the country’s 2019 budget, which includes tax rises on gambling activity.

Playtech’s full-year guidance, which was for adjusted earnings of 320 million euros to 360 million euros (£287.7 million to £323.6 million) as of November, remains unchanged.