Sportech eyes £80m Spot the Ball tax refund
SPORTECH, the company which bought the Littlewoods Pools, has won its long-running VAT wrangle with the government.
Four years ago it submitted a claim to the Government for the repayment of more than £40m in VAT.
It argued VAT was overpaid in respect of its “Spot The Ball” game which was offered from 1979 to 1996.
Today it said the first-tier tribunal’s tax chamber had found in its favour which could lead to a payout of up to £80m, due to the addition of interest. HMRC will have until April 30 to appeal.
Sportech argued that the competition – where punters try to place the ball missing from a football action photograph – is a game of chance, which should not be subject to VAT.
According to HMRC, a game of chance is defined as a game of pure chance – such as roulette – or a game of chance and skill combined, where a player cannot eliminate chance unless by using “superlative” skill.
