New Zealand want to increase online gambling tax to fund social communities.
A new draft provision to increase social funding has been put forward in parliament, that would see the intended Offshore Gambling Duty being raised from 12% to 16% – with the 4% difference set aside for community initiatives.
The move comes as part of the government’s commitment to redirecting gambling profits to benefit local communities without undermining the existing funding mechanisms.
Hon Brooke van Velden, the country’s Minister of Internal Affairs, raised the proposal based on public feedback. She insisted this would not deflect from the government’s efforts to deter bettors from the black market and reduce gambling harm.
“The message from communities was loud and clear – if we’re regulating online gambling, they want to see benefits flow back to local sports clubs, community groups, and grassroots organisations.
“I have listened, and now as a government, we are delivering on what matters most to communities across the country.”
Back in July, New Zealand introduced the iGaming bill which allowed up to 15 operators to be licensed in the regulated market.
Licensed operators are required to play by strict rules, including spending limits, age verification systems and self-exclusion tools.
Operators are instructed to pay a goods and services tax and an offshore gambling duty of 12% as mentioned above, alongside a mandatory levy of 1.24% of profits to fund services for gambling harm.
In doing so, the country banned all forms of offshore betting sites and it marked the biggest change to New Zealand’s sports betting laws in over two decades.
The country wanted to increase financial returns to domestic racing and sporting bodies while reducing the risk of gambling-related harm associated with unregulated operators.
Shortly after the bill was proposed, Betfair announced its exit from the New Zealand sports betting market and apologised for the inconvenience.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
