Leaked Curaçao files show UK bookmakers profited from offshore casino deal

Thousands of confidential files held by Curaçao’s gambling regulator were leaked last week in what has been dubbed the Casino Secrets leak, according to the Guardian. Among them is a file concerning the Santeda online casino network, which the paper says has been accused of illegally targeting vulnerable gamblers in the UK and has been fined in Spain for operating without a licence.

The leaked file shows that Santeda signed a deal in 2022 with Sports Information Services, known as SIS, a UK-based gambling content provider part-owned by Ladbrokes, William Hill and Fred Done, the owner of Betfred, the Guardian reports. All three companies have repeatedly told the government that higher taxes or tighter regulation could push customers towards unlicensed offshore operators.

SIS supplies gambling sites with live horse racing, greyhound and esports content, plus the data used to settle customer bets, the paper notes. Under the contract, which ran for two years and auto-renewed unless either side opted out, SIS received a share of revenue from losing bets placed through Santeda’s brands. The Guardian states it is unclear whether the contract remains active or how much SIS earned from it, and that SIS declined to say whether the deal had been terminated.

Companies House filings cited by the paper show SIS shareholders have received at least £37m in dividends since the deal was signed, including £30m in 2023. Ladbrokes, which owns 23% of SIS, is reported to have received £8.5m of that total. William Hill, with a near-20% stake, is said to have received more than £7m, while Fred Done’s 8% holding is reported to equate to nearly £3m.

Entain, which owns Ladbrokes, told the Guardian it was “not a party to the commercial or customer arrangements SIS decides to strike” and said that, now the relationship had come to light, it had “raised our concerns to SIS”. The companies are understood to have been unaware of the Santeda deal when it was signed, according to the paper.

“While the UK’s biggest gambling firms have been warning about the risks of growing the illicit market if the government increases tax and regulation, the very same firms are profiting from it. If the gambling industry is concerned about the black market, it needs to get its own house in order by cutting all ties with it.”

That quote comes from Matt Zarb-Cousin, a gambling reform campaigner, speaking to the Guardian. A spokesperson for SIS told the paper that all its customers agree to only offer SIS products where it is legal to do so, and that SIS takes corrective action, including suspension or termination of contracts, when it becomes aware terms are not being met. The contract with Santeda, the Guardian adds, does not permit use of SIS data in the UK, though the paper’s own earlier reporting found Santeda sites had illegally targeted UK customers.

Fred Done warned the chancellor this month that higher taxes on slot machines, under consideration ahead of the budget, would push punters towards illicit sites that pay no tax and contribute nothing to horse racing.