New Zealand wants int’l online gambling operators to pay 3% betting turnover fee

New Zealand has unveiled its plans to prevent international online gambling sites from offering their superior services to local punters.

A year ago, Racing Minister Nathan Guy said his “number one priority” was finding a way to boost revenue for the New Zealand Racing Board’s TAB online betting site. In April, Guy announced the formation of an Offshore Betting Working Group to prepare a report on how to cut off the flow of funds to international online gambling sites.

On Tuesday, Guy gave a speech at the NZRB’s annual general meeting in which he revealed the Working Group’s findings and recommendations. (Read the full report here; the recommendations start around page 26.)

The Working Group estimates that international gambling sites earn about $58m in revenue per year from New Zealand bettors, up from $32m in 2010. Over that same span, the number of Kiwis betting with international sites has basically doubled to 40k and could double again by 2020, representing about one-quarter of the TAB’s customer base.