More tax woes for Aussie operators

The state of New South Wales in Australia is about to launch a four-week consultation period on new online gambling taxes that the state government hopes will add A$100 million to its coffers.

The Australian newspaper reports that Treasurer Dominic Perrottet will detail proposals to impose the much debated point-of-consumption tax on internet bookies…or a tough 2 percent of total turnover.

NSW wagering tax on racing and sports betting is levied at the physical point of sale and does not capture most online wagering, a part of the industry that has experienced significant growth in recent years, the Treasurer said in a government statement.

Other states and territories have changed the way they tax wagering following the rise of online betting, something we are also considering here in NSW.

We want a better understanding of how such a change would operate and whether it is the right move for NSW, so we want all interested parties to have a say.

The Australian reports that Ministerial diary records show that the racing industry, Tabcorp and the NRL have met the Treasurer in recent months concerning the tax.

Tabcorp and the racing industry are understood to favour a tax on turnover, which they argue is fairer than on profits, while the NRL is understood to oppose the tax as the organisation believes it may lead to pressure on it to renegotiate its agreements with online bookmakers.

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