New Zealand Considers Taxing Offshore Betting

New Zealand's newly appointed Racing minister, David Bennett (l.) has introduced a plan to tax offshore betting in the country’s Parliament, but the amendment to the 2003 Racing Act does not set a specific tax rate. It also proposes introducing information usage fees.

New Zealand Racing Minister David Bennett has introduced a point of consumption plan to tax offshore betting companies, but the proposal does not yet name a tax rate.

The plan was introduced in the country’s Parliament as an amendment to the 2003 Racing Act. According to yogonet.com, the bill specifies that online operators may not be taxed more than the total amounts that the New Zealand racing Board provides to sports organizations and the local racing industry annually. That also includes the introduction of information fees paid by operators.

The Racing Amendment Bill reflects the recommendations of the Offshore Racing and Sports Betting Working Group, which was established in 2015 to review the impact of offshore gambling.

Operators who generate less that NZ$ 60,000 in revenue within the country would be exempt from both information fees and the proposed new tax. Fines ranging from NZ$ 20,000 to NZ$ 50,000 could be levied against operators failing to meet the country’s requirements, the report said.

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