Australian State Wants a Big Slice of the Gambling Cake

Australian state Victoria introduces controversial gambling tax proposal.

The officials of the Australian state of Victoria are about to introduce a new proposal for the gambling tax.

The proposal has been described as ‘radical’ and its arrival is somewhat a surprise, since Victoria was a part of an earlier deal made by several other states not to open the whole issue until the gambling framework is adopted on a federal level.

The proposal targets a specific group of players, and if it gets adopted, Victoria could earn more than $110 million on yearly basis just from those who gamble online.

Victoria’s government officials say this step was taken to provide the state with extra funds, but it still remains unclear why is this step taken unilaterally and without any consultation with other states.

When in Doubt, Call For POCT

The Garden State has more in hand, since the Budget papers reveal the intention to introduce a point of consumption tax (POCT) for bookmakers.

The federal government is at the moment working on the accordance of the state’s online sports betting POCT, but it claims this is not being done simply to increase the country’s revenue, though many, including the punters and the bookmakers think otherwise.

South Australia was among the first to advocate the adoption of a POCT. Tom Koutsantonis the state Treasurer, emphasized the importance of the taxation of online gambling operators who earn money on gambling activities of South Australia’s citizens.

South Australia’s 15% POCT on betting revenue will come into force on July 1, and the officials in Adelaide expect to earn around $6.9 million per year.

No News on National POCT

Scott Morrison, Australia’s Federal Treasurer said the South Australia’s lawmakers had done an excellent job with the proposal, which could serve as model on a national level.

The matter is still being discussed between the state and territory governments, and nothing has been agreed yet.

Morrison couldn’t say anything about the introduction of the national POCT, since the country was busy with other changes to the online betting regulations. Those activities include banning poker and casino products, but also restricting the advertising of gambling services during live sporting events.