Legislation introduced to NT Parliament to lure BetFair to Territory

THE Northern Territory is looking to further loosen its gambling regulations to lure more corporate bookmakers north

Gaming Minister Peter Styles has introduced legislation to NT Parliament which would pave the way for betting exchanges to set up shop in the Territory. PICTURE: Justin Kennedy

THE Northern Territory is looking to further loosen its gambling regulations to lure more corporate bookmakers north.

Gaming Minister Peter Styles last week introduced legislation to Parliament which would pave the way for “betting exchanges” to set up shop in the NT. Betting exchanges allow punters to gamble against one another, setting the odds and size of the bet, with the exchange picking up a commission.

Mr Styles told Parliament the legislation was designed to lure the Australia’s only licenced online betting exchange, BetFair, to the NT.

He said the NT’s tax and fee structure was an “attractive lure” to BetFair, as was the NT’s regulatory approach, which he said offered a “quicker response to operational issues than the Tasmanian regulator”.

“This does not mean the Northern Territory is a pushover when it comes to approval process, but our smaller size allows us to move with greater speed,” he said.

The NT already offers Australia’s cheapest bookmaking licences. The 13 corporate bookmakers licensed in the NT collectively paid $4.77 million in gaming taxes last financial year on a turnover of $9.6 billion — mostly derived from online sports betting.

Mr Styles estimated BetFair would pay an estimated $805,000 in tax and licence fees each year. He said 12 staff were likely to be based in Darwin. A BetFair spokesman confirmed the company would seek out an NT betting exchange licence should the legislation pass and “provided the regime is viable”.

BetFair is owned by CrownBet, which is licenced in the Territory. The spokesman said it made sense for BetFair to be located alongside its parent company. No opposition members were available to speak to the NT News about the legislation yesterday.