Responsible Wagering Australia

RWA is committed to working collaboratively with Australia’s major sporting codes and the racing industry to foster both responsible wagering and protect the integrity of Australian sport and racing. 

EVIDENCE 

RWA members are major financial supporters of domestic sport and racing, each year contributing millions in product fees to Australian racing codes and sporting codes.

Last year, RWA members paid $650 million directly to the Australian racing industry supporting trainers, jockeys, and other participants. Additionally, RWA members pay some of the highest tax rates in the world, with 51 cents in every dollar of revenue being paid as tax.

Although these significant fees are in theory to be used to fund the integrity of sport and racing, often there is little nexus between fees charged and integrity and responsible wagering outcomes with racing product fees paid by RWA members increasing 174% and sport fees by 260% over just 4 years. 

ACTIONS 

• A viable and competitive domestic wagering industry is critical to both protecting the integrity of sport and racing as well as promoting responsible wagering in the Australian community.
  
• RWA does not engage in the commercial negotiation of the level of fees themselves, however RWA is committed to pursuing with racing and sporting bodies opportunities to reduce the regulatory compliance costs that stem from conflicting definitions in product fee and integrity arrangements and to increase collaboration on responsible wagering programs. 
  

• RWA will advance these and any actions based upon furthering the long-term viability of the Australian wagering industry, promoting responsible wagering over stigmatising of sports wagering and the integrity of events. 

A viable and competitive domestic wagering market is fundamental to combatting wagering-related integrity threats.  Members of Responsible Wagering Australia are committed to working with government and law enforcement, including Sport Integrity Australia to protect the integrity of Australian sport. 

The key wagering-related integrity issues for sport are prohibitions on online in-play wagering, the lack of a consistent national approach to match-fixing, and the ongoing largescale operation of illegal overseas gambling websites offering services to Australian consumers. 

EVIDENCE 

97 percent of domestic wagering activity on Australian sports is presently covered by integrity agreements and the low incidence of wagering-related integrity issues in Australia shows that the existing integrity systems are highly effective. 

The Wood Review of Australia’s Sport Integrity Arrangements determined that the prohibition on online in-play wagering in Australia is a major threat to the integrity of sport.  Despite Australia’s tightly regulated online wagering services providers being prohibited from offering these products, illegal offshore websites and anonymous cash-based retail venues are freely able to. 

ACTIONS 

• Responsible Wagering Australia is committed to supporting government and law enforcement, including Sport Integrity Australia, combat threats to the integrity of sport. RWA supports investigative and advisory functions for Sport Integrity Australia to support sport controlling bodies maintain the integrity of their events. The functions of Sport Integrity Australia should not however amount to a de facto regulation of the wagering industry itself.  
• As existing regulatory settings are performing well, any case for re-regulating the governance of sports wagering integrity arrangements must be done with a clear evidence base. 
• Industry and other stakeholders should not be targeted to fund any expanded sporting integrity functions or operations, and any regulatory case to expand these operations must be based on a clear and agreed evidence base and appropriate consideration of cost versus benefit. 
• Technology neutral regulation of in-play sports wagering by removing the arbitrary prohibition of in-play wagering online with Australian-licensed wagering service providers.  This is an ongoing and identified threat to the integrity of sports and has the perverse outcome of driving Australian consumers to unregulated, illegal offshore betting websites. 

In-play betting is the practice of placing a bet on the outcome an event after the commencement of the event (e.g. after kick-off).  In-play betting offers a market on outcomes at fixed points within the period of a game, but allows bets to be placed while the game is in progress where odds will differ throughout the game. 

In-play betting does not refer to betting on specific events occurring within a game; this is known as micro betting or spot betting, and can include betting on the outcome of a specific kick, bowl, or play etc. 

Responsible Wagering Australia supports the regulation of online in-play sports wagering and the removal of current federal prohibitions under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. 

• Australians are already betting online in-play on sport but Australian consumers are forced to bet using unlicensed, illegal overseas websites. 
• Australians are already betting in-play on sport in physical venues as this is legal and regulated by state and territory governments. 

CONSUMER DEMAND 

Modelling by KPMG for the federal government released in 2015 forecast online in-play betting expenditure by Australian consumers using illegal offshore websites at $170.9 million in FY2019/20.  Providing evidence of continuing consumer demand for these products, in 2019 H2 Gambling Capital estimated this figure at between $200 million and $225 million. 

Australian research shows a growing consumer demand for online in-play wagering and 90% of those surveyed actually used illegal offshore websites to do so. 

Regulating online in-play betting will extend the proven protections of the National Consumer Protection Framework for online wagering customers.  Consumers using illegal overseas websites are not covered by these strong regulatory protections. 

Regulating online in-play betting on sport in Australia will reduce the risk of betting-related corruption occurring on sporting events in Australia.  Unlike bets placed in physical venues, all bets placed online are tracked and monitored and information can be easily provided to enforcement agencies. 

The Review of Australia’s Sport Integrity Arrangements (‘the Wood Review’) confirmed that the prohibition on online in-play wagering on sporting matches in Australia is a major threat to the integrity of sport: 

“…[illegal overseas websites] do not pay Australian levies, including licence fees and taxes, or product fees to sporting organisations, they can accept in-play bets online, offer markets outside those authorised for onshore Australian WSPs, and offer anonymity and placement/collection methods that avoid detection by regulatory and law-enforcement agencies.” (pp.7-8) 

This regulatory prohibition is out of touch with consumer preferences and distorts the market by increasing the competitive advantage of the offshore wagering black market.  It places consumers at risk and creates an integrity blind spot for Australian sporting and law enforcement authorities.  

With Australia’s harm minimisation and consumer protection framework now global best-practice (following the roll-out of the National Consumer Protection Framework) the time is right to ensure Australians seeking to bet on a sporting event after it has started can do so with regulated and responsible Australian wagering operators.  

Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) supports strong regulatory action to prevent illegal offshore gambling websites from offering products and services to Australian consumers. These illegal online platforms entice Australian consumers by offering products prohibited in the Australian market, such as in play betting.  As they pay no Australian taxes and make no contribution to the domestic sports and racing industry, they are free to offer strong financial incentives to Australian consumers. 

All customers betting with licensed Australian online providers must have verified accounts and this is supported by a range of effective responsible gambling measures, such as deposit limits, time-outs, detailed activity statements and self-exclusion.  Illegal offshore websites provide none of these consumer protections. With hundreds of these sites actively targeting the Australian market, the risk to consumer protection is significant.

EVIDENCE 

Noting that reliable data on the quantum of black-market activity is difficult to compile, RWA utilises independent research undertaken by internationally recognised UK analysts H2 Gambling Capital showing: 

• $1.016 billion is spent by Australians each year on illegal overseas gambling websites. 
• The ongoing operation of illegal offshore gambling sites represents +$360 million of lost tax revenue each year. 

ACTION 

In response to the ongoing threat of illegal offshore gambling websites, RWA supports: 

• The ongoing role of the Australian Communications and Media Authority, through the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, in targeting illegal offshore operators. 
• Recurrent government funding allocations to advance consumer awareness campaigns highlighting the illegal nature of offshore gambling sites. 
• Governments ensuring that Australia is not only offering the highest standards of consumer protection, but also fostering a viable taxation and regulatory environment to Australian-licensed operators. 

The online wagering market in Australia is one of the most tightly regulated globally and affords Australians with unparalleled consumer protections. Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) is committed to ensuring Australia has the best evidence-based consumer protections anywhere in the world and critical to this is a viable and competitive domestic wagering industry. This high level of regulation has resulted in significant discrepancies in the taxation and regulatory approaches taken between Australian jurisdictions.

Together, these inconsistencies represent a significant cost burden on industry which reduce its competitiveness and long-term viability. RWA supports a deregulation agenda that removes the regulatory barriers that prevent investment and job creation. 

Consistent with the Australian Government Guide to Regulatory Impact Analysis, RWA supports the requirement that: 

“Policy makers should clearly demonstrate a public policy problem necessitating [government] intervention and should examine a range of genuine and viable options, including non-regulatory options, to address the problem.” 

RWA will advocate in favour of more consistent approaches to regulation across jurisdictions in support of evidence-based effective regulation in place of unsustainable overregulation. 

Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) acknowledges it must respond to shifting community sentiment on the matter of advertising. RWA is committed to participating in collaborative conversations with government on the topic of advertising reform and exploring evidence-based solutions that sustainably support wider downstream industries such as sport, racing and media. 

The practice and promotion of responsible gambling is central to the way Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) and its members operate.  We are committed to providing consumers with the world’s best responsible gambling tools. The online wagering market in Australia is one of the most tightly regulated globally and provides Australians with unparalleled consumer protections.  These protections have been further strengthened by the development of a National Consumer Protection Framework (NCPF) for Online Wagering agreed to by the Commonwealth, and state and territory governments.  

RWA remains a strong advocate for the NCPF. The NCPF agreement resulted in ten new world-leading measures, which once fully implemented, will firm Australia’s place as the global leader in protecting online wagering consumers.  

The NCPF measures include: 

• Prohibition of lines of credit being offered by wagering service providers. 
• Prohibition of links between wagering and payday lending. 
• Strengthened customer age and identity verification procedures. 
• Restrictions on inducements, including a ban on account sign-up offers. 
• Simpler account closure procedures. 
• Voluntary opt-out pre-commitment (i.e. the mandatory ability to set a deposit limit). 
• Activity statements. 
• More consistent responsible gambling messaging. 
• Staff training in the provision of responsible gambling online. 
• A National Self-Exclusion Register. 

RWA is committed to working with governments at all levels to implement these measures and achieve national harmonisation.  Notwithstanding these world–leading consumer protections, Responsible Wagering Australia remains committed to considering evidence-based proposals to strengthen responsible gambling in Australia.  

In considering consumer protection proposals, RWA will have regard to: 

• National harmonisation. 
• Ability to address a clearly demonstrated and well–documented gap in existing protections.
• Ability to assist individuals in making informed choices based on their own circumstances. 
• A positive cost-benefit relationship, including with respect to discrete and overall taxation and regulatory burdens. 
• The risk of causing perverse unintended consequences. 
• Recognition of wagering as a legitimate form of recreational entertainment. 

Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) believes that point of consumption tax (POCT) represents a direct threat to the growth and viability of Australia’s wagering, sport and racing industries. At the unsustainable levels seen in some Australian jurisdictions, POCT cannot simply be absorbed by online wagering service providers.

As transaction costs increase, consumer utility and confidence will decrease and investment in Australia’s domestic racing industry will invariably decline. Australian licensed online wagering service providers face some of the world’s highest effective tax rates and compete on an unlevel playing field against illegal overseas online wagering providers and highly protected domestic monopolists.

Responsive technology-driven business models have a record of disrupting historical monopolies which have no economic incentive to adapt outdated business practices. Online wagering service providers are supporting a consumer-led structural shift and POCT unfairly punishes innovation and acts against new-economy consumer preferences.

EVIDENCE 

• Australia’s online wagering service providers face some of the highest effective tax rates in the world, where in some states close to 50 percent of revenue goes to state wagering taxes and legislated fees to sporting and racing codes before corporate tax, payroll taxes, or GST. 
• POCT is levied at different levels across states and territories and is administered by separate state/territory legislative instruments creating significant regulatory complexity and compliance costs. 
• Imposition of POCT has a clear correlation with declining racing industry revenues. 
• Illegal offshore wagering websites can be freely accessed by Australian consumers.  These platforms pay no taxes, and punitive POCT measures create an unfair advantage for these illegal operators as Australian consumers move to seek more favourable returns. 

ACTION 

In response to inconsistent and unsustainable imposition of point of consumption taxes across Australian jurisdictions, RWA supports: 

• A coordinated, evidence-based national review of POC tax settings and outcomes. 
• An immediate freeze on POCT levels and staged rollback of POCT to sustainable levels. 
• Examination of the Commonwealth’s potential role in POCT administration. 
• Equal imposition of any POCT on all wagering providers, including historical monopoly operators.