UK betting operator Ladbrokes owes the government £71m after losing its court fight over a bogus tax avoidance scheme.

In December 2015, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) won a £54m judgment against Ladbrokes after the company admitted engineering a deal between two of its divisions that resulted in an artificial share price drop of one entity that allowed the other to claim a tax loss.

The deal, which was crafted by accountants at Deloitte, took advantage of a legal loophole that originated in 2008 and was closed that same year after HMRC realized its vulnerability. HMRC pursued legal action against all 11 firms that attempted to take advantage of the loophole.

Ladbrokes appealed the 2015 court ruling, saying the company had a “strong argument” that it had done nothing wrong. But the Upper Tribunal of the Tax and Chancery Chamber has since disagreed, dismissing all three of Ladbrokes’ legal arguments and ordering the bookie to cut HMRC a £71m check.