Gambling-harm reduction campaigners have insisted on the implementation of a special tax on gambling companies aimed at the provision of some extra funding for rehabilitation centres, legal services, and new consumer rights groups in Australia.
The introduction of the levy has been recommended as a result of a federal parliamentary inquiry. For the time being, no specific recommendation for the rate has been made. However, the suggested change has already faced some criticism, as some public health experts have noted that the levy may not be as effective as it is supposed to be unless the competent authorities carefully design it.
The inquiry report suggests that the levy should be used to provide funding for the establishment of a national regulatory body aimed at the provision of coherent, uniform monitoring of the industry that is currently subject to regulation on a state and territory level. According to the report, the newly recommended tax would also reduce the importance of gambling companies in the development of regulatory rules.
Licensed gambling companies in Australia have been successfully providing false data regarding gambling-related harm by exaggerating the role that personal responsibility plays while disparaging the responsibility of the country’s Federal Government and the local gambling industry. The record claims that the unwillingness of the sector to take responsibility for at least some of the issues has been having a detrimental impact on Australian people experiencing gambling-related harm.
New Gambling Industry Tax Will Not Be Necessarily Efficient, Experts Say
According to some anti-gambling campaigners, the proposal for the implementation of the new levy on the local gambling industry has been an excellent “starting point” and the Federal Government of Australia now has a great chance to get things right. For the time being, the Australian gambling sector contributes to tax revenue and provides a certain number of jobs. However, as far as funding special gambling addiction treatment or junior sports programmes are concerned, they hardly make any donations, which gambling critics have found scandalous, especially in terms of the significant harm inflicted on local communities.
As Casino Guardian recently reported, a Federal Government’s inquiry has recommended the gradual implementation of a blanket ban on gambling advertising following a three-year transition period. They are still waiting for more details on the potential implementation of the proposed levy, if such a tax is adopted, in the first place.
Australian gambling and betting companies have reminded that gambling was, after all, a lawful form of entertainment that is currently being enjoyed by millions of local residents in a safe and responsible manner. The trade body of the industry – Responsible Wagering Australia – has noted that, unlike illegal offshore operators, the sector already paid taxes worth AU$1.9 billion, with the money being used as direct funding for education, healthcare, and other important services.
For the time being, the amount that is expected to be raised as a result of the potential implementation of a new gambling industry levy remains unknown. It also remains unknown whether the Federal Government will eventually accept the aforementioned recommendation.
The Australian gambling sector accounts for an annual turnover of approximately AU$50 billion.
According to some market specialists, such as Deakin University’s gambling researcher and public health expert Samantha Thomas, there was little evidence that the proposed tax would have an actual effect on foul industry practices. The implementation of such a levy could have a positive impact in case the money was directed toward some measures aimed at preventing gambling-related harm, such as marketing campaigns exposing the unfair tactics used by the sector or clarifying the risks of developing gambling addiction. Of course, treatment of problem gambling behaviour is quite important, but the prevention of gambling-related harm and not allowing it to grow into addiction is as equally important.
- Author
Olivia Cole
