Australia: Victoria to set 8 pct iGaming tax

The government of Victoria has announced that it plans to introduce an 8 per cent tax for online betting agencies to increase tax revenue.

Australia.- Victoria state treasurer Tim Pallas has announced that the government plans to introduce an 8 per cent tax for online betting agencies. It is expected to start from January 2019 and would raise up to €18.9 million a year as it would be set below other states’ taxation rates.

“We’re making sure online betting companies pay their fair share of tax in Victoria,” Pallas said, according to media outlet NewsCorp, adding: “We will continue to consult the industry and other stakeholders as we finalise legislation to implement the point-of-consumption tax… We don’t want to do any harm to the industry.”

Despite the announcement to tax the activity, Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) considered the rate to be disappointing but highlighted the government’s “consultative approach” and its executive director Stephen Conroy said: “The online wagering industry already pays a significant amount of consumption tax through the GST, as well as corporate income tax to the federal government.”

“An 8% [tax] does not adequately account for these significant contributions and will result in Victoria having one of the highest effective wagering tax rates in the world,” Mr Conroy added.