Page 3658 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 18 September 2018
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These clubs employ a large number of Canberrans, and that is not just restricted to race day. The facilities at Thoroughbred Park are available for functions such as wedding receptions and corporate lunches. This in total adds up to a significant contribution to the character of the capital region.
Racing clubs in the ACT deserve to have part of these funds invested in what they provide for the Canberra community, and I will be speaking on this a little later on. A portion of the revenue raised by this new tax should be provided to the racing industry. Committing to 20 per cent, as is the case in New South Wales, would be wonderful, but any commitment whatsoever would be a move in the right direction.
I also call on the government to explain to the Canberra community what they plan to do with the extra revenue raised through this new tax. A vague statement about services in the ACT I do not think cuts it. I think the people of Canberra deserve better.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (11.17): The Greens will be supporting this bill, which allows for the introduction of a point of consumption betting operations tax in the ACT. This means betting operators will be taxed based on the location of the user rather than the location of the company’s registered office. Online wagering is the fastest growing segment of the Australian gambling market, worth approximately $1.4 billion in net wagering revenue in 2014.
Between 2004 and 2014, online wagering grew at around 15 per cent annually, compared with just three per cent growth in the general gambling market. My figures are obviously a couple of years old, and I suspect since then that rate of growth has continued, particularly given the prevalence of advertising we see for these sorts of services.
Given the increasing rate of online gambling activity, the change in taxation approach outlined in this bill is designed to improve the regulation and oversight of the wagering industry and help neutralise any difference in approach between online and land-based betting operators.
In addition to improved regulation through this approach, the Greens hope that over time any additional revenue obtained through this tax will be invested in additional harm minimisation efforts, as we know significant harm results from problem gamblers betting on racing, sports and other events at a level beyond their means.
We have spent a lot of time in this place talking about gambling harm, with a particular focus on the harms that arise from poker machines. This remains an important issue, and while there is more work to do in this space we must also recognise that gambling harm comes from a range of different products and we need to look at a series of measures to help protect people and improve oversight of the gambling industry.
Research from the ANU shows that moderate risk or problem gamblers accounted for over 42 per cent of all money lost on wagering on sports or special events in the
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