UK judge approves Entain's $737 million settlement over Turkish bribery probe

(Reuters) -Ladbrokes-owner Entain said on Tuesday it had received final approval from a British judge to settle charges stemming from alleged bribery offences at the global sports betting group's former Turkish unit.

The court approval concludes an HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) investigation that began in 2019.

Under the deferred prosecution agreement entered earlier, London-listed Entain agreed to pay a penalty of 585 million pounds ($737 million), which will now be paid over four years from Dec. 5.

It will also pay 10 million pounds to the UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and HMRC, the British tax authority.

The FTSE-100 company will additionally make a charitable donation of 20 million pounds.

"The Court has concluded that there have been sweeping changes to (Entain's) compliance procedures," Chief Crown Prosecutor Andrew Penhale said in a statement after the court's approval.

"The wider gaming industry may wish to reflect on the implications of this agreement for their own corporate compliance procedures and, where appropriate, take action to address and report any failings they identify," he added.

Gambling is a 14 billion pound industry in the UK, and the sector has faced several large fines for problematic practises earlier as well.

($1 = 0.7938 pounds)

(Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)