Queensland rejects lottery to fund elite sports

The British-style national sports lottery proposes to fund elite athletes has been rejected in Queensland due to concerns on its effect in sports.

Australia.- A sports lottery had been proposed in Queensland in order to fund elite athletes and improve the country’s performance at the Olympics. However, due to concerns on its effect on sports as a whole and the possibility that it might transform their nature, the British-style sports lottery model has been rejected.

According to The Australian, Federal Sports Minister Greg Hunt informed states that potential negative impacts on state-based lotteries would be compensated before the money was sent to sports programs. Furthermore, he agreed to extend a consultation period due to concerns of lottery agents and newsagents about the Tabcorp-Tatts merger.

However, the potential sports funding was immediatly tied to gambling and concerns about its effect on sports took the proposal down. State Sports Minister Mick de Brenni said: “I think all states would agree that sport needs a significant-injection of funding from the commonwealth across all-levels,’’ and added it was “shortsighted” to make such ties.

“Lotto is already a crowded field in Australia and there are real doubts about whether this idea would even be successful (…) Even more important, the Turnbull government’s proposal would take more money off working people and their families. It would involve creating hundreds of millions of dollars in extra gambling losses in the community,’’ he commented.

Gambling taxes and levies reached US$896 million in Queensland, including US$191.9 million from lotteries. These figures are lower than 2015-16’s, when lotteries contributed US$951 million to the state and territory coffers.

“Queenslanders would be surprised to hear the Palaszczuk government is backing more pokie machines but not measures to improve sport funding as Great Britain and New Zealand have already done,’’ a spokesman for Minister Hunt said. “It is particularly surprising given that Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt previously expressed his strong interest in the concept to the minister some months ago.’’