The ACT expects to raise an extra $6 million each year by increasing the territory's betting operations tax to 20 per cent.
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The extra revenue will be used to fund investments in infrastructure, city services, health and education, the government said.
"Betting operators will be taxed 20 per cent on net ACT betting revenue that exceed the tax-free threshold of $150,000 per year. The betting operations tax will apply to bets on lotteries, racing, electronic games and more," a government spokeswoman said.
"There are a number of large, multinational betting companies who are making significant profits from bets made in the territory. Through the betting operations tax, we are making sure that these multinational corporations are paying their fair share of tax to the ACT."
When it announced the tax in 2019, the government said it expected to collect about $2 million in revenue a year. It has since said early estimates were conservative.
However, answers to questions on notice in the Legislative Assembly showed the government had received at least $10.2 million in the 2018-19 financial year.
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The tax is charged to digital bookmakers, based on where an online bet is placed, rather than where the company is located. The tax also covers bets placed on lotteries, racing and electronic games.
The number of operators paying the tax had grown from 18 in 2018-19 to 25 in December 2021. The government said on five of the operators paying the tax in 2020-21 had net betting revenue above $5 million annually.
The ACT branch of the Australian Hotels Association has previously agitated for an increase to the betting tax, to limit what it sees as an unfair advantage online gambling operators have over tightly regulated in-person bookmakers and gaming machine operators.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
