On 1 January 2019, the ACT Government introduced the Betting Operations Tax. This is administered by the ACT Revenue Office in accordance with the Betting Operations Tax Act 2018 (external site).
As of 1 July 2023, the self-assessed point of consumption tax is 25%, payable by all betting operators whose Net ACT Betting Revenue (NABR) from ACT bets exceed the tax-free threshold in a financial year.
- For the period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, the determined rate of the tax was 20%.
- For the period 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2022, the determined rate of the tax was 15% (see section 10 of the Betting Operations Tax Act 2018).
What is meant by a 'betting operator'?
A ‘betting operator’ is defined to mean any person who earns revenue as a result of accepting ACT bets or providing a service through which ACT bets are made.
What is an 'ACT bet'?
‘ACT bets’ are bets that are placed with a betting operator by a person located in the ACT when the bet is placed.
A person is deemed to be located in the ACT if:
- the person is present in the ACT when the bet is placed, or
- if the betting operator does not know the person’s location when a bet is placed and that person is required to register with the operator before a bet is placed, the person’s registered address is in the ACT.
What is a 'bet'?
A bet is defined as a stake, pledge or wager between two (2) people on any event or contingency but does not include a game or lottery authorised by a gaming Act.
A gaming Act means:
- the Casino Control Act 2006 (external site);
- the Casino (Electronic Gaming) Act 2017 (external site);
- the Gaming Machine Act 2004 (external site); and
- the Lotteries Act 1964 (external site).
A bet can also include non-cash components. The monetary value of the non-cash component of the bet should be included in calculating the tax payable.
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Further reference: