Wed, Jun 27, 8:10pm by William Brown
Last Updated Wed, Jan 8, 7:06am
Apr 16, 2017 Have a big year playing poker? Time for a visit to a tax man. Many players are more focused on their winnings and their next stop on the poker. Feb 07, 2019 Taxability of Poker Winnings. Poker differs from many other gambling activities in that is considered that skilled players can significantly increase their chances of winning and can make a consistent profit playing. The Queen is a key case specifically addressing poker where a lawyer quit his job and became a professional poker player.
Australia has one of the highest rates of gambling in the world, with more than 80 per cent of Australian adults engaging in gambling of some kind. This includes four per cent of the adult population who play poker machines once a week. Traditionally, gambling has been legislated at a state and territory level, rather than by the federal government. There are numerous Acts in each region that outline information about gambling tax laws and regulations.
AUD $2000BONUS-800+ Pokies
AUD $1000BONUS-150+ Pokies
AUD $4000BONUS-450+ Pokies
AUD $1500BONUS-1000+ Games
AUD $1500BONUS-250+ Pokies
History of Gambling Tax Legislature
In Australia, the winnings from gambling are not taxed. This is for three reasons.
Gambling is not recognised as a profession in Australia. It is regarded as a hobby or recreational activity. The Australian government has come to an agreement that the gains from gambling activities are often the result of good luck, not hard work.
Even if someone wins big, many people also lose a lot in other gambling sessions. Skilled professional gamblers, such as poker players, who could argue their winnings are the result or skill instead of luck, haven’t been asked by the government to pay taxes on their winnings.
If the player decided to register themselves as a business though, they might be required to pay tax. If the player received sponsorships, endorsements and other gains because of their professional gambling career, then this would be taxable.
Who Pays The Gambling Tax in Australia?
The main reason behind the lack of taxation on gambling winnings is that the gambling operators are taxed instead. This taxation differs between the regions.
There are taxes on the turnover amount, on player loss and on net profit. As such, gambling operators need to obtain a license to offer their services, with certain fees paid during the development of the operation. The operators’ requirements to pay tax differ based on where they are operating and what form of gambling is offered.
For example, in the state of New South Wales, tax on electronic gaming machines in casinos is between 16.41-38.91 per cent of gross revenue, depending on the gross revenue.
This is different to the state of Victoria, where the tax is 31.57-51.57 per cent of gross gaming venue.
Poker Winnings Terms
What are the Online Gambling Tax Rules in Australia?
In Australia, the Interactive Gambling Act (2001) governs the rules and laws about online gambling. This is a national law and was passed by the Australian Parliament on June 28, 2001. The Act is targeted at online gambling operators, making it an offense for them to offer ‘real-money’ online interactive gambling to residents in Australia.
That hasn’t done much to stop Australian’s spending big online, with $800 million spent by 2010. Accessing and using interactive gambling services is not an offence in Australia. It is also permitted for companies based in Australia to offer their services to gamblers located outside Australia, with the exception of those countries that were called ‘designated countries’. Australian punters benefit from not having to pay tax on their gambling winners, but when online gaming is concerned, there aren’t many Australian providers.
Since few are based in Australia, there is a foreign transaction fee that users will have to pay to make a deposit or withdrawal. This is dependent on what kind of banking method you use.
For example, Mastercard and Visa will always charge a foreign transaction fee, whereas Skrill, won’t charge one. There is also the issue of currency conversion to be aware of and some of the best casinos available might not offer the option to play in the Australian dollar.
Do Players Have to Pay Any Gambling Tax in Australia?
In Australia, it is the gambling operators that are charged tax, not the players. The amount of tax the operators pay depends on the type of game and the location of the poker machines or casinos.
There is no tax to pay for online Australian players either, despite a few online Australian casinos in operation.
The only fees or charges a player might encounter when playing an online casino could be fees to withdraw or deposit money into international casino sites or when converting the Australian dollar into the website’s preferred currency.
Fri, Jun 21, 2:33pm by Noah Taylor
Last Updated Tue, Oct 8, 12:19am
The number of players declined from 4.6 in 2011 down to 4.4 in 2012, while the number of gaming machines remained steady: around 200,000 are found in Australia. These days, Australia has the 7th highest total number of poker machines of any country in the world. The countries with more gaming machines are Japan (pachinko), the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany.
No Taxes on Winnings
Poker machines account for a huge part of the revenue stream for gambling interests in Australia. Of all the gambling profits made by gambling interests in Australia, over 60% comes from pokies revenue. These gaming machines use video displays to project games with five reels, in most cases.
Decades ago, the games in casinos were mechanical, but now all land-based and online pokies are electronic. These use a random number generator to produce results. While this might seem like an academic fact, the electronic nature of the machines has increased the potential size of jackpots over the past three decades by several magnitudes of scale. In turn, the bigger payouts has increased the popularity of poker machines to the Australian gaming public.
Unlike many other nations worldwide, the government does not tax player winnings. Instead, the governments collect taxes on the revenues of the casinos, pubs, and clubs which offer gambling. In recent years, the states of Australia collected about $3 billion per year on revenues from pokies (though they collected more in 2011 than 2012). This accounts for roughly 2/3rds of the taxes collected, out of a total of about $4.6 billion.
Australian Pokies by State
![Tax On Poker Winnings Australia Tax On Poker Winnings Australia](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126273623/833876851.jpg)
Most of the gambling machines in Australia are found in one of three states: New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. We’ll focus mainly on these three states, since they comprise about 7/8ths of the poker machine economy in the country.
New South Wales Pokies
New South Wales houses about half of the gaming machines in Australia, if one counts the Australian Capital Territory. The number any given year is around 97,000, though this amount rises and falls periodically. The games are found not only in the usual locations, but also in RSL clubs throughout the state.
Poker Machines in Victoria
Victoria has about 25% of the population of Australia, but only 15% of the gaming machines (about 29,000). A recent decline happened after the Victorian government ended the 20-year duopoly by Tabcorp and Tattersall’s. These companies were allotted 13,000 machines apiece, which were placed in the bigger venues where they could make the most money. Many of the small pubs and clubs which would have machines in NSW or Queensland don’t have them in Victoria.
In Victoria, the payout percentage for pokies must be 87% or higher. This includes payouts at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. In 2007, new laws were instituted which banned the use of $100 bills for gambling. Also, the autoplay feature was banned in gaming machines in the state of Victoria. The only exception to this ban is the Crown Casino, where players with a VIP loyalty card can place $100 bets. These same players can use the autoplay feature, too. Those wondering why autoplay would be a focus of the law must understand this option allows players to set the game to run without a manual clicking of the button, so losses can run high quickly.
Winning Poker Hands Chart
Queensland Pokies Revenue
Queensland houses just over 45,000 of the gaming machines in Australia. The state government of Queensland instituted a law where requires a specific minimum house edge. In casinos, the lowest house edge on poker machines is 90%. In pubs and clubs, the lowest possible house edge is 85%.
Western Australia’s Casino
Western Australia has long had the most restrictive gaming policies in the country. Besides the Burswood Casino, now known as the Crown Perth, no gaming machines are allowed in the state. The Crown Perth currently has 1,500 coin-operated gambling machines, with games like video poker, keno, dice, and dominoes.
At the moment, reel slots with pull-down levers are not allowed in Western Australia. According to a 2012 proposal by Crown Limited, the Crown Perth will expand its gambling facilities to include 2,500 gaming machines in all.
Tasmanian Pokies Revenues
Tasmanian casinos and gaming venues collect about $215 million per year in revenues from pokies. The numbers are declining slightly since the all-time high of $220 in 2009. Tasmania’s government granted a monopoly on gaming machines to Federal Hotels, which has placed some 3,680 machines in all.
South Australian Pokies
The SA government recently passed a law which would limit bets per spin to $5, down from the previous $10 limit. Another new law calls for a pre-commitment system, which would allow gamblers to set a limit to their gambling losses before they started playing. The new law also creates a major venue (60 machines max) and a minor venue (20 machines max). The distinction between these venues includes the ability to use ATM machine and player incentive clubs. The new law might lead to a consolidation of poker machines in the bigger establishments. Their maximum limit of machines goes from 40 to 60, while many of the smaller places may be able to sell their licenses to the big clubs.
Northern Territory Gaming
In the Northern Territory, player losses on poker machines is reaching nearly $200 million per year. This means the 1200+ gambling establishments are likely to collect about $140 million in pokies revenue each year, with the government collecting about $60 million. While this is small change compared to several other state governments, some in the territory view these numbers as a disturbing trend. The number of machines has jumped by a factor of 5 in the past 10 years, which means the profits have increased by a similar amount.
Online Gambling in Australia
Australians are thought to spend over $1.1 billion per year on the online betting. That number continues to rise from one year to the next, up from $928 million in 2010. That figure includes sports betting, table games, and poker sites. Like in other parts of the industry, over half of the total revenues come from online pokies.