Skip to main content

Tasmanian govt to change wagering taxes to create more jobs

Interesting times in Tasmania. Not only did they break ranks and license Betfair, much to the annoyance of all the Aus mainland states, now they have the Tas Tote up for sale and are looking at completely restructuring the tax regime in order to create more jobs. Tasmania has quite high unemployment and faces an exodus of youth each year as teenagers finish school and head to Melbourne or Sydney usually to study or find work.


Tote Tasmania Sale Looks To Raise Over A$200m


The government has also suggested the ending of wagering taxes on pari-mutuel and fixed-odds betting. Like Betfair, Tote Tasmania will now run under the aegis of the Tasmanian Gaming Commission.

Coleman said the new regime would ensure the growth and profitability of Tote Tasmania while providing a secure future for the Tasmanian racing industry. “The legislative package released today shows that Tasmania supports business and offers an innovative and well-regulated environment in which to operate a successful business.”

Tasmania Treasurer Michael Aird said the privatisation of Tote Tasmania was designed to attract new offshore and domestic investment and create jobs to benefit the Tasmanian economy. Said Aird: “The government is confident that the quality of the Tote Tasmania business, and the competitive tax and licence regime, will generate strong buyer interest. The reforms outlined today will further enhance its value and increase its appeal to potential buyers both outside and inside Australia.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Spot-fixing - you will never, ever be able to stop it

According to this report , IPL tournaments so far have been rife with spot-fixing - that is fixing minor elements of the game - runs in a single over, number of wides bowled etc. The curious part of that article is that the Income Tax department are supposed to have found these crimes. What idiot would be stupid enough to put down 'big wad of cash handed to me by bookie' as a source of income? Backhanders for sportsmen, particularly in a celebrity- and cricket-obsessed culture like India are not rare. They could come from anything like turning up to open someone's new business (not a sponsor, but a 'friend of a friend' arrangement), to being a guest at some devoted fan's dinner party etc. The opportunities are always there, and there will always be people trying to become friends with players and their entourage - that is human nature. This form of match-fixing (and it's not really fixing a match, just a minor element of it) is very hard to prove, but also,

It's all gone Pete Tong at Betfair!

The Christmas Hurdle from Leopardstown, a good Grade 2 race during the holiday period. But now it will go into history as the race which brought Betfair down. Over £21m at odds of 29 available on Voler La Vedette in-running - that's a potential liability of over £500m. You might think that's a bit suspicious, something's fishy, especially with the horse starting at a Betfair SP of 2.96. Well, this wasn't a horse being stopped by a jockey either - the bloody horse won! Look at what was matched at 29. Split that in half and multiply by 28 for the actual liability for the layer(s). (Matched amounts always shown as double the backers' stake, never counts the layers' risk). There's no way a Betfair client would have £600m+ in their account. Maybe £20 or even £50m from the massive syndicates who regard(ed) Betfair as safer than any bank, but not £600m. So the error has to be something technical. However, rumour has it, a helpdesk reply (not gospel, natur

lay the field - my favourite racing strategy

Dabbling with laying the field in-running at various prices today, not just one price, but several in the same race. Got several matched in the previous race at Brighton, then this race came along at Nottingham. Such a long straight at Nottingham makes punters often over-react and think the finish line is closer than it actually is. As you can see by the number of bets matched, there was plenty of volatility in this in-play market. It's rare you'll get a complete wipe-out with one horse getting matched at all levels, but it can happen, so don't give yourself too much risk...