Internet bookmakers in NT welcome tax changeDAN OAKES
November 2, 2009
INTERNET bookmakers based in the Northern Territory have cheered a Government move to cut the amount of tax they are liable to pay.

The decision comes as Tasmania and the Northern Territory battle for the tenuous loyalty of the numerous internet-based corporate bookmakers, who siphoned more than $1.5 billion of turnover last year from Victoria and NSW alone, according to estimates by industry giant Tabcorp.

The Northern Territory Government wiped away existing taxes, replacing them with a 10 per cent gross margin tax, payable on all betting events conducted under the NT wagering licence and capped at $250,000.

Sportsbet chief executive Matthew Tripp said the changes would save his company about $2 million a year after tax.

''I certainly didn't put a gun to the head of the territory, but I pointed out the fact that I'm in a portable business and I have to do what's right by the business, and I appealed to them to review the taxation regime,'' Mr Tripp said.

''I think it was too big a carrot for them to pass up, so they got their heads together and thought that they should put an offer together similar to that of Tasmania to ensure that everyone stayed.''

Mr Tripp said he had told Northern Territory officials that Tasmania, which is home to Sportsbet competitor Betfair, was trying to position itself as the ''hub of wagering in the country''.

Another corporate bookmaker, Centrebet, said yesterday that the change would save it $700,000 a year after tax. ''The reduced tax rates are a welcome move which make it economic for us to maintain our presence in the territory and will assist the Northern Territory Government in protecting jobs in the state,'' Centrebet chief executive Con Kafataris said.

''Centrebet has been licensed in the NT for 17 years and has built a strong and productive working relationship with the NT Government, which we look forward to maintaining.''

The Northern Territory decision comes as the racing industry debates recommendations made by the Productivity Commission around levies paid by bookmakers to state racing bodies.

Corporate bookmakers are calling for a uniform national levy based on a percentage of revenue, rather than a turnover-based charge such as that levelled in NSW, which they say is weighted in favour of retail monopolist TABs.

Betfair and Sportsbet are currently challenging the validity of turnover-based fees in the NSW Supreme Court.