SIS Deal Connects Ladbrokes, William Hill and Betfred Founder to Santeda

Sports Information Services signed a commercial agreement with Santeda in 2022, according to documents from the Casino Secrets leak reported by The Guardian on October 1.

That matters because SIS is not an obscure supplier sitting outside the regulated market. Its shareholders include Ladbrokes owner Entain, William Hill owner Evoke, and Betfred founder Fred Done.

The link is indirect. There is no evidence that Ladbrokes, William Hill or Betfred negotiated the Santeda agreement, and industry sources cited in the investigation said information barriers at SIS meant the bookmakers would not have known about individual customer contracts.

The Contract Sat One Step Away From the Bookmakers

SIS supplies racing pictures, data, esports content and information used by operators to price and settle bets. The leaked agreement reportedly gave Santeda access to SIS services for two years, with automatic renewal unless either party ended the arrangement. Payment was tied partly to revenue from losing bets on Santeda brands.

There was a geographic restriction in the contract. SIS data was not meant to be used in the UK.

That clause sits awkwardly beside what was happening on Santeda’s own sites. MyStake, Goldenbet and Velobet were among the brands previously found accessible to British players despite Santeda having no UK Gambling Commission licence.

Whether SIS still supplies the group is unknown. The original agreement ran for two years and renewed automatically unless one side cancelled it.

15M Check: Entain and Evoke Still Hold 42.9% of SIS

15M checked the ownership against the companies’ latest disclosures rather than relying on the stakes quoted in the leaked files. Entain’s latest annual report lists a 23.4% interest in Sports Information Services (Holdings).

William Hill owner Evoke reported separately that it held 19.5% of SIS as of June 30, 2026, in its H1 2026 disclosure. Add those together and the two listed gambling groups still hold 42.9% of SIS.

Fred Done provides another present-day link. Companies House still lists the Betfred founder as an active SIS director; he has held the position since 2007. The Guardian puts his SIS shareholding at roughly 8%.

The bookmaker connection, then, did not end with the 2022 Santeda contract. It remains visible in SIS’s current corporate structure.

A £30m Payout Is in the Public Record

The leaked files are not the only place where the dividend trail appears. Catalyst Media Group, itself an SIS shareholder, reported that SIS had paid £30 million in dividends in late October 2023. Catalyst’s 20.54% share came to £6.16 million, according to its 2023 final results filed with the FCA.

That payment makes up most of the £37 million distributed to SIS shareholders since the Santeda deal was signed, based on the Guardian’s review of company filings.

There is an important limit to the number. The £37 million was the total paid out by SIS. It was not £37 million received from Santeda, and there is no public figure showing how much the Santeda contract contributed to SIS revenue.

The leaked agreement only shows the commercial model: SIS was entitled to a percentage of revenue generated from losing bets on Santeda brands. The actual amount has not been disclosed.

Bookmaker Shareholders Were Reportedly Unaware

The shareholder link does not show that Ladbrokes, William Hill or Betfred approved the Santeda deal. Industry sources told the Guardian that commercial information inside SIS is restricted because its bookmaker shareholders compete with one another. They said this would have prevented them from seeing individual customer agreements.

Entain said it was not involved in choosing SIS customers. After the Santeda relationship became public, the group said it had raised the matter with SIS.

SIS, for its part, said customers are required to use its products only in markets where they have the necessary licences. Contracts can be suspended or terminated if those conditions are breached.

That leaves one fairly basic point unresolved. The leaked contract started in 2022. Its initial two-year period is over. But because renewal was automatic, somebody had to cancel it for the relationship to end. SIS has not said whether anybody did.