“Requiring online casino operators to pay their fair share of tax and the new offshore gambling duty is a welcome first step towards a level playing field.
“SkyCity looks forward to a regulated market, where harm minimisation is one of the primary objectives.”
Forsyth Barr head of research Andy Bowley said the proposed tax rate implied online casino profits would be taxed at a higher rate than their land-based counterparts.
“This higher rate suggests upside risk for land-based casino taxes,” he said, with an aggregate tax rate of about 25 per cent of gross gaming revenue for online casinos, compared with about 18 per cent for land-based casinos.
While the the Government had confirmed a July 1, 2024, start date for online casino regulation, Bowley said the details had not been finalised.
“There is still significant uncertainty on the specific details of the regulatory framework, including the nature of online casino licences,” he said, though the changes were expected to be positive for SkyCity.
“We expect SkyCity to grow its current low share of the online casino market,” Bowley said, adding that SkyCity was currently competing in an unregulated online gambling environment, which was much like the wild west.
“In a regulated environment, there’ll be more controls over the behaviour of the various participants.”
Online gambling crackdown $500m short - IRD
Earlier this month, Inland Revenue put up its own costings for the Government’s plan to raise revenue from online gambling.
National planned to raise about $176 million a year by closing tax loopholes enjoyed by online gambling, reckoning it could net $716m over the four-year forecast period from the policy change.
IRD is less optimistic. In a Regulatory Impact Statement on the change, which will require overseas gambling operators to pay gaming duty of 12 per cent on gross betting revenue, IRD reckoned the policy would net $35m a year, rising by 5 per cent a year, about $155m over the four-year forecast period.
Westpac offers gambling block
Meanwhile, Westpac NZ had put in place an optional gambling account block to support customers struggling with online gambling, with Te Whatu Ora estimating about 186,000 people were personally affected by gambling harm.
Westpac customers spent $136.8m in the third quarter of last year on online gambling compared with $3.2m at gambling facilities.
With reporting by Herald staff.
