Three major gambling companies - Tabcorp, bet365 (Hillside), and Pointsbet - won $1.3 billion dollars from Australian gamblers in 2023-24, yet paid zero company tax.
bet365 (Hillside) and Pointsbet have never paid company tax in Australia despite winning over $2 billion. bet365 lists numerous subsidiaries in secrecy jurisdictions such as Delaware, Malta and Alderney in the English Channel.
These findings underscore the Murphy Review's call for a federal levy on online wagering revenues to fund gambling harm reduction measures.
Key points:
- The five largest online wagering companies won $5.4 billion in 2023-24, but reported just $0.4 billion in profit (taxable income) and paid $0.1 billion in company tax, just 2% of their winnings.
- The big five spent at least $600 million on advertising and promotion in this period, six times more than they paid in company tax.
- These companies paid at most $700 million in state gambling taxes, some of which is earmarked for horse racing industry bodies that "invest" in promoting further wagering.
- These companies spent around $720 million on fees to sporting organisations, the vast majority of which goes to the horse racing industry. Media reports suggest the AFL and NRL collect just $50 million each per year.
"The Murphy Review recommended a federal levy on online betting and now we know why," said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute.
"Online betting companies are very good winning money and very good at convincing the ATO that they don't make any profit and shouldn't pay any tax.
"Funding gambling harm reduction measures clearly can't depend on existing tax measures and how clever these companies' accountants have been this year.
"The companies claim that the taxes they pay to the states are sufficient. But much of this money goes straight to the racing industry that ploughs it back into promoting gambling.
"This report also exposes the lie of companies' "contributions" to sporting organisations. The vast bulk of this money goes to the horse racing industry, not to little leagues and community sport.
"A simple levy on wagering revenue specifically to address gambling harm is badly needed if Australia is to do anything about our world-leading gambling losses.
"We have long known the harm these companies cause in Australian communities – causing bankruptcies, health and mental health issues, exacerbating domestic violence and also leading some people to suicide – but now to hear that they give so little back through their tax minimisation schemes is appalling," said Martin Thomas, CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform.
"The Federal Government must do more to crackdown on these companies, to make sure they pay their fair share, rather than continuing to let our nation be a wild west for foreign owned gambling companies."
