Online lottery betting operator Lottoland came under the spotlight after the Australian politicians decided to launch a crackdown on the offshore casino operators, which target local players. Lottoland has been accused of damaging the locally-run lotteries’ profitability. At present, 3 Australian states want to banish Lottoland, including Victoria, Western Australia, and Queensland. South Australia already amended its legal framework, so that it banned the provision of betting on lotteries services within the state’s borders. But that seems not to be the end of the witch-hunt, as New South Wales also announced its decision to restrict Lottoland’s operations.
It seems that the anti-Lottoland massive campaign keeps on gathering momentum. The latest Australian state, which is to introduce a crackdown on the Gibraltar-based operator Lottoland is New South Wales (NSW). Deputy Premier John Barilaro explained that this aims at protecting the players’ interest and stop the leakage of money. It is important to note that Lottoland operates under a license issued by the Northern Territory. This means that the company is allowed to offer its gambling options to the entire Australian nations, even though it pays taxes only to that particular government.
Besides this, Lottoland operates like an online bookmaker, taking bets on certain lotto numbers being drawn, i.e. it offers bets on lottery outcomes, not tickets in a draw. Such lotteries are referred to as “synthetic lotteries” and the states are to impose legislative restrictions on them. Speaking of the latest news, Racing Minister Paul Toole commented that the lawmakers are currently exploring the different options, looking for the most appropriate one to restrict synthetic lotteries such as Lottoland.
Reasons for the Rising Public Discontent
The fact that Lottoland is not paying taxes to all the Australian states, in which it operates, with the only exception being the Northern Territory (NT), vexed the states’ officials, who decided to ban the operator. Apart from all, Lottoland was accused of stealing the customers of the traditional state-run lotteries, which additionally contributed to the tense atmosphere. In response to the verbal attacks, Lottoland announced that the Australian states have no particular regulatory framework on the matter, as betting on lottery draws is not referred to in the law as legal or illegal. Nevertheless, the operator announced its readiness to pay a consumption tax of AUD50 million, but it seems that this cannot quench the fire.
Local lotteries, on the other hand, contribute significantly to the states’ economy. Any damage on their operations would mean that the revenue paid to the state will also plummet. The massive discontent inspired lottery operators and sellers of lottery tickets to join forces and launch a campaign called “Lottoland’s Gotta Go!”.
