One of the world’s biggest punters, abandons Australian racing
…”They’re killing the goose that laid the golden egg,” renowned bookmaker Robbie Waterhouse said.
“This is all in response to the increasing taxes being imposed on Australian markets and it’s unbelievable someone as big as Dr Nick has turned his back on Australian racing.”
The majority of the country’s foreign-owned bookmakers reported huge cuts in profits of their Australian operations after the introduction of the point of consumption tax, levied at different rates by state governments.
It has left bookmakers increasing their margins on betting markets, resulting in some of the industry’s biggest punters lowering their turnover. Other professional punters are having their accounts shut by oddsmakers who don’t want to take their bests.
Australia’s biggest online bookmaker Sportsbet reported a $40 million hit to its profits for the six months to June 30 this year.
