Ireland’s competition commission has taken legal action against Ladbrokes following a series of raids on betting companies earlier this year.

Papers initiating a High Court case against Ladbrokes Ireland were officially lodged on Tuesday, September 23.

The action follows a series of dawn raids in mid-May at the premises of multiple gambling companies amid an investigation by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission – Ireland’s consumer regulator – into alleged breaches of competition law by those firms.

he probe relates specifically to alleged price fixing and anti-competitive agreements within the gambling industry itself. Irish competition law forbids anti-competitive agreements between vested interests – such as agreements to fix prices and liabilities within the gambling industry by two or more businesses.

It’s understood that the CCPC action against Ladbrokes relates to issues concerning claimed legal privilege over documents and information that were seized in the May raids. It’s the second such action taken against Ladbrokes since June.

A spokesperson for the CCPC said that the case “relates to statutory processes initiated by the CCPC under section 33 of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014”. 

“This is a procedural matter related to a criminal investigation under our competition law powers. No further comment can be made at this point,” they said.