BetFair, the United Kingdom online gambling site based out of New South Wales has spoken out about horserace betting. “There’s been some heated debate around the issue of industry funding with stakeholders quite naturally expressing concern about the future viability of the racing industry,” said Twaits.
BetFair, in the industry of online gambling is trying to find a solution that allows equal contribution. “In all the hysteria, some of the facts have been lost or distorted including the basis on which Betfair believes it should contribute to the funding of the racing industry.”
According to the conference held in Sydney, the online operator stated, “Let me be very clear on this. We have offered to pay the industry on gross revenue. That is, on the same basis as the TABs in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. Further, we think 20 percent is the right amount and we’ll pay at that rate if everyone else does the same.”
“Racing New South Wales has set the fees for TABs at just 9.375 percent of their gross revenue. If Racing New South Wales sets its product fees at 20 percent of gross revenue for all wagering operators, we believe they would be likely to generate more than ten million dollars per year in extra product fees for the industry. That is in addition to the undisputed element of the product fees Racing New South Wales is already charging interstate operators.”
“While no one likes paying more tax, we’ve consistently said that 20 percent is the right amount for race fields. We’ll pay it if our competitors do the same. What we won’t do is pay tax at a rate that’s six times higher than our competitors. That’s a recipe for us going out of business.”
Betfair is willing to participate in the taxing of the betting and gambling contributions, but just wants to be treated as equals with their competitors. “We’re determined to see the nation’s racing industry prosper and we’re prepared to pay our fair share to help achieve that result.”
