Revolut, TikTok, Huawei and Allianz are among the companies facing fines after failing to file on time to the Lobbying Register. The deadline was September 21st for making returns for the period May to August to the log, which is overseen by the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo).
The idea is to provide transparency on who is lobbying whom and about what. Revolut, TikTok, Huawei and Allianz all reported that they didn’t actually lobby anyone in that period, which makes their late filing that bit more embarrassing.
A fine of €200 is automatically applied. If that’s not paid within 21 days, Sipo can take a prosecution. At least two of the companies have coughed up already.
Revolut declined to comment while a spokesman for Allianz said: “Allianz can confirm that due to human error, we submitted a nil return to lobbying.ie after the deadline. We accept our error and have paid the €200 fine. We understand that the matter is now closed.”
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Sipo won’t say how many fines have been issued for late returns this year, but there were 468 last year, which was up on 2021.
While those four companies had a quiet summer, there was no shortage of lobbying by representatives of betting companies in relation to regulation of the sector.
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The returns show that Q4 was working for the UK gambling group Entain, owner of Ladbrokes, whose share price dropped 12 per cent last Monday after it warned of a slowdown in online betting amid “regulatory headwinds”.
Flutter Entertainment (owner of Paddy Power) met the secretary general of the Department of Finance, Red Flag Consulting has been lobbying for both At The Races and the Dublin Pool and Jukebox Company, and representations were also made by BoyleSports and the Irish Bookmakers Association.
