The ACT government will move to protect ACTTAB's monopoly in the territory once the betting agency is privatised.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Gaming Minister Joy Burch will introduce legislation in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday to cement ACTTAB's ''exclusivity arrangements'' for totalisator betting operations in the ACT.
The legislation will allow for only one licence in the territory for TAB operations, assuring potential buyers that the agency's monopoly status will continue.
In a separate motion, Treasurer Andrew Barr will seek the assembly's approval to sell the country's smallest TAB.
The government announced last week it would sell the betting agency by the end of the financial year due to falling profits in a gambling market dominated by online agencies and corporate bookmakers.
The government said it would not spend the tens of millions it would require to make the agency viable and warned the sale would lead to job losses, particularly for ACTTAB's head office staff.
The move will leave Western Australia as the only Australian jurisdiction with a government-owned TAB. Mr Barr will seek the assembly's agreement on Thursday to begin the process of selling ACTTAB.
Ms Burch's bill will formalise an ''enforceable exclusive licence'' for totalisator wagering services in the ACT. As well as providing for only one licence for totalisator betting operations, the bill will enable prosecution of any unauthorised operators to prevent interstate agents from placing equipment in the ACT.
The decision to sell the agency was widely expected after a review found there was a strong case for the betting agency to be privatised. In the last financial year, the government made a profit of just over $1 million from ACTTAB and that figure has been falling year on year. The PricewaterhouseCoopers study found ACTTAB was facing increased competition, limited options for growth and would need considerable government investment to remain viable.
''An organisation that is the smallest TAB in the country simply is not in a financial position to compete with businesses of an international scale,'' Mr Barr said last week.
Ms Burch's bill will also establish regulation over technology used for totalisator betting services, which she said would provide greater consumer protection.