PROMINENT ABC journalist and commentator Jack Kerr suggested last week that if the major political parties are “looking for a late, sports-themed winner”, they should consider a crackdown on the Northern Territory as a sports gambling tax haven.
And he provided some compelling facts that Messrs Turnbull and Shorten, and their respective minders, should well consider.
“Where are all the policy announcements aimed at buying the votes of swinging sports lovers around the country?” he asked
“As election 2016 keeps on trucking, it's almost as if our political elite have forgotten the role sport can play as a vehicle for propaganda.”
He suggested – as a late, sports-themed winner – a crackdown on the Northern Territory as a sports gambling tax haven.
“For the big online betting houses, life is anything but tough at the top,” Kerr wrote.
“They love it up there-the NT. And not without good reason. For them, it's a low-tax jurisdiction.
“And by low, we're talking an effective tax rate of decimals of cents in the dollar. Figures released for the previous financial year showed the NT's betting houses had a turnover of $9.6 billion - yet paid just $4.77 million in tax.”
He said while operators elsewhere can attract a tax rate of close to 60 per cent on their top dollars, the NT caps tax for betting houses at just over half a million dollars per year.
As a result, more than a dozen betting operations are now set up in the Territory capital. A number of them, such as William Hill, Bet365 and Paddy Power's Sportsbet, are foreign-owned.
“In other words, the Territory has become a funnel through which billions of dollars are being fleeced, or at least taken, from local punters and then shipped overseas.
“And all for a yearly income that wouldn't even come close to getting you a block of ugly Darwin flats.”
Senator Nick Xenophon (the only voice against the NT monopoly and overseas takeover of gaming in this country) once described the Territory's tax laws as "an absolute gift" to the bookmakers, who "must be laughing all the way to their offshore bank accounts".
in the world of gambling, where higher taxes would mean less attractive odds, and therefore less punting?
One group calling for such a change is the South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS), which launched a campaign on this issue in April.
"The use of virtual tax havens by gambling companies means that they are paying next to nothing while our community has to pay for the damages caused by problem gambling," SACOSS CEO Ross Womersley said.
The article attracted considerable response. One (named Big Ben) summed it up perfectly when he wrote: “As usual our politicians are asleep at the wheel, billions flowing out overseas, why worry about the National Debt when our Personal Debt is number 2 in the world.
Then that pathetic gesture by CrownBet calling on all bookies in the country to accept bets to lose $1000 is exactly that – pathetic.
Big deal!
Crownbet surely must surely know that Bookies on-track have been betting to a $5000 minimum liability for many years, with no right of refusal.
CrownBet has announced it will accept all bets to win at least $1000 provided they are placed within 30 minutes of a race start.
Under current rules, off course agencies can refuse any bet at any time-and often do to the chagrin of punters
It has been suggested that if the corporates really want to work on Australian racing they should be represented on- course as well and be forced to work under the same rules and conditions as the on- course bookie whose numbers have dwindled alarmingly in recent years. And we all know why.
Level playing field? About as level as a BMX bike track.
Eagle Farm reopens
THE Eagle Farm dream was fulfilled on Saturday and could not have been better scripted. One only hopes that the massive crowd that attended the grand reopening of one of Australia’s most famous race tracks will continue to keep the turnstiles clicking. For, according to the experts, the future of racing in this state is reliant on a rebirth of interest in an industry that had lost its gloss.
Eagle Farm is seen as the catalyst to get punters back to the on- course action. It is a big ask given the changed off course betting landscape- but at last punters now have a facility of world class.
TOWNSVILLE punter Andrew Symington is one who will never forget the opening of Eagle Farm – for the wrong reason.
He took a $50 a fixed price all up double on Executed ($16) to win the Lightning all up Under the Louvre ($12) in the Stradbroke – a net resulted of $9600.
But when the first day was abandoned and the Lightning (same field mind you) was run on Wednesday, Ubet cancelled the bet.
Andrew is still fuming. As you would be.
“When I called Ubet, they were very dismissive and said the bet was cancelled because the race wasn’t run within 24 hours of the bet being placed.
“I am just another mug punter getting ripped off,” he said.
The $50 stake went on to Under the Louvre to return $600.
Just $9000 short of the original wager.
