Sports betting and gambling news archive
News
archive 
Selection
of news items that were displayed on the Smartgambler
front page from 2009 onwards, with the latest material
appearing at the top.
July
and August 2012
Online
Gambling Survey
Southern Cross University, The University
of Sydney and Turning Point are conducting
research into online gambling and need volunteers
to complete their online survey.
If
you can spare 15 minutes to help further understanding
of the issues surrounding online gambling and its
legislative framework, please click
here.
People
who participate can opt to go into the draw to win
an iPod.
March
25th 2012
Rumours
on Full Tilt buyout gather momentum.
Sources in the US are saying that poker giant Pokerstars
has closed a deal to acquire failed company Full Tilt
Poker in a US $750 deal with the Department of Justice.
If true, this could be great news for clients of Full
Tilt, who are owed tens of millions in frozen player
accounts. This money appears to have been a factor
in derailing the attempt of previous frontrunner,
Group Bernard Tapie, who wouldn't or couldn't commit
to its repayment. Large amounts of the money in player
accounts is alleged to have been illegally siphoned
off to pay inappropriate dividends, and various court
actions are swirling around shareholders of the disgraced
company, include high profile poker professionals
Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson.
June
24th 2016.
Sportsbet Australia reacts with fury to SA government
tax grab!
Read
the press release below to see what the corporates
think about the latest politician money grab.
SA
GOVERNMENT TO DESTROY ONLINE WAGERING AND RACING INDUSTRY
A
Point of Consumption (POC) tax on wagering will drive
millions of dollars of revenue out of South Australia,
decimate South Australian racing, and encourage corruption
in sport.
Sportsbet.com.au's
CFO Ben Sleep said the South Australian Government's
decision to introduce a POC tax, without industry
consultation, was a short-sighted money grab which
demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of the
internet. Mr Sleep said the suggestion that online
wagering companies did not pay tax was ill-informed
and that the addition of a POC tax meant companies
such as Sportsbet would be paying three layers of
tax in South Australia. "Sportsbet already pays a
point of consumption tax in the form of GST - $53.4m
in the last year alone - and contributes over $75m
annually to the racing and sporting industries through
product fees," Mr Sleep said. "This short-sighted
money grab makes South Australia the highest online
wagering tax environment in the world with operators
paying 50 cents in every dollar of revenue in taxes.
"The tax applies to every bet placed on every race
around the country so not only will this decision
decimate the SA racing industry - which stands to
lose millions in product fees - it will hurt every
racing code across the country as Sportsbet and other
bookmakers are forced to decrease their investments
in Australian sport and racing."
Mr
Sleep said a POC tax could force providers such as
Sportsbet to mitigate the tax by charging South Australians
higher prices, with dire consequences. "Which side
of the border a customer stands on will determine
what odds they are offered, with South Australian
punters to be the biggest losers," Mr Sleep said.
"This will encourage South Australians to bet with
unlicensed and unregulated offshore operators to get
the best odds available. "This will result in millions
of dollars of tax leakage offshore and force South
Australians into an environment without the responsible
gambling safeguards of licensed domestic providers
such as Sportsbet." It also creates significant sports
integrity risks, as only Australian based licensed
bookmakers work with sporting bodies and law enforcement
to stamp out corruption in Australian sport."
Mr
Sleep said instead of slugging licensed operators
more in taxes, the South Australian Government would
be better served incentivising providers to invest
into the local economy. He said many Australian based
licensed bookmakers would seriously consider withdrawing
from South Australia altogether as a result of a POC
tax. "The South Australian Government has effectively
made wagering in South Australia a losing proposition,"
Mr Sleep said. "Instead of raising millions in additional
tax revenue, this decision will drive the industry
and its tax dollars out of South Australia, creating
a net economic loss instead of the sugar hit the State
Government had hoped for."
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