Sportingbet confirmed the site had been frozen, but said it had contingency plans for dealing with such regulatory clampdown
The Turkish authorities have tried to disrupt the �125m sale of Sportingbet's Turkish-focused online bookmaking business Superbahis.com by blocking the website, which they believe to be operating illegally, to domestic users.
The group, which recently came close to being acquired by larger rival Ladbrokes, last week agreed to sell the Superbahis business to a subsidiary of AIM-listed GVC.
Sportingbet confirmed the site address had been frozen, but said this had happened a number of time previously and the group had contingency plans for dealing with such a regulatory clampdown. It has the mobile numbers of most users of the Turkish site and is able to quickly text them the address of a new site.
"The new website was up and running within the same day of the block being introduced," Sportingbet said. "The block had no material financial or operational impact on the business."
In a capital-raisng prospectus published earlier this year, Sportingbet acknowledged that its Turkish-facing business, which accounts for more than 10% of takings, came with considerable regulatory risks. "The law? explicitly bans online gambling conducted without a local authorisation, whether the gambling service is based in or outside Turkey? The activities of Sportingbet Group, in taking online gambling custom from Turkey, are considered illegal under Turkish law."
In 2008 two Sportingbet employees and other former employees were arrested in Turkey and a trial is thought possible. In April this year a further legal action targeted five individuals including three Sportingbet staff, though the Turkish authorities have not been able to serve papers on the defendants who are all based outside Turkey.
The Turkish business was acquired in 2007, but since then chief executive Andy McIver has been trying to refocus the business on less controversial territories.
Last week Ladbrokes walked away from protracted takeover talks with Sportingbet, echoing similar aborted discussions with 888. It had been hoped that the agreement to sell off Sportingbet's Turkish business, reached in July, would smooth the way for a deal with Ladbrokes. But Ladbrokes boss Richard Glynn said: "We have ben unable to agree a structure which delivers increased shareholder value within an acceptable regulatory environment."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/21/gambling-ladbrokes
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