Study: Gambling Revenue Rising In Victoria

A new study by Swinburne University journalism students has found that gambling taxes are set to bring the Victorian state government more than $74 million in extra revenue in 2010/11.

The students, who conducted the study in a joint project with online political magazine Crikey, made the findings after scrutinizing more than 200 annual reports of state government departments and statutory authorities.

Hefty Tax Revenue

The projected figure of $74 million is up 4.5% on the figures from 2008/09. The figure was published in a state government report in which it was also said that gambling taxes accounted for around 10% of Victoria's tax revenue.

The report labeled the surprisingly high figure as "partly problematic," noting that a high proportion of it was made from gambling addicts. The report went on to say that because the government was profiting from gambling taxes, it took away incentives to introduce ways to reduce the rate of problem gambling.

Gambling Tradition

Victoria has traditionally relied heavily on gambling taxes, even when compared to other states. In 2005/06, gambling taxes accounted for 13.4% of total tax revenue in Victoria, which was equal with the figure in South Australia and more than the figure in the other four states.

In the same period, state and territory government collected around $4.7 billion in gambling taxes.