SPORTS betting has surpassed casino by becoming the top in paying tax to the government, ‘Daily News’ can establish.
Gaming Board’s response to questions
filed by this newspaper regarding how players have been paying tax in
the past financial year, show that until 2015/16 FY, Casino gambling was
a leading category until 2016/17, when sports betting took over.
Sports betting, according to Australia
Sport Betting website, are a form of gambling that entails placing a
wager, also known as a bet, on the outcome of a sporting event.
“The primary intent of sports betting is
to win additional money. With the exception of spread betting, ‘draw no
bet’ wagers and a few other examples, a bet will have two possible
outcomes,” the site adds.
The board’s data shows that in the last
FY, sports betting recorded 17.9bn/- in tax compared to casino’s 9.8bn/-
in the same period, followed by SMS lottery 7.4bn/-, Slots Operations
1.5bn/- and 40 Machine Site 278.8m/-.
The data show that sports betting has
abruptly surpassed casino since in 2015/16 FY the latter recorded
12.1bn/- in tax while it contributed 10.8bn/-.
Moreover, two months of July and August,
this year, data show that sports betting trailed other categories after
recording 1.12bn/- and 1.84bn/- in tax respectively.
In July, government collected a total of
2.9bn/- and 4.5bn/- in August this year as tax, from all gaming
activities. The information filed by the board’s Sadiki Elimsu on behalf
of Gaming Board General Director, shows that until October, this year, a
total of 18 companies have been registered as sports betting firms.
Without mentioning their respective
amounts paid in tax, the three overall biggest taxpayer companies are
Mobibet (T) Ltd (BIKO), Gateway Gaming Ltd (M-Bet) and Entertainment
Africa (Premier Betting).
While the government has been gaining in
tax from gaming activities in the country, the industry has directly
employed more than 3,000 people, according to the board’s 2016/17 data
from 2,928 in 2014/15.
The board’s responses to the ‘Daily
News’ state that the regulator has “been educating people through
brochures on responsible gambling, to avoid negative consequences on
their brains (addiction) and players’ income.”
Furthermore, the board said that it has
the role of educating people who want to participate in any gaming
activities to consider the game’s terms and conditions, “to know their
basic rights and how to participate.”
As the gaming activities are spreading
in the country, the ‘Daily News’ wanted to know how it is making sure
that children under the age of 18 are not participating, according to
Sections 47 and 70 of the Gaming Act 2003.
The Gaming Board said, “All places where
gaming activities are conducted have been directed to put adverts
barring children.” It added that “Section 70 of the Gaming Act, 2003
states that any person who will be found guilty of allowing children to
participate, will be subjected to pay 500,000/- in fine or sentenced to
three years imprisonment or both.”
Through the Finance Act, No 4 of 2017,
the Parliament amended the Gaming Act, Cap 166 of the Laws of Tanzania
and gave the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) the mandate to collect
Gaming Tax with effect from 1st of July, 2017. Due to the said changes,
TRA is now responsible for assessing, collecting and accounting for
Gaming Tax Revenues.
After the amendments, all stakeholders
and taxpayers who were paying their various gaming tax dues to the
Gaming Board of Tanzania are supposed to submit their tax returns and
pay their respective taxes to TRA.
“It should be understood that payment of
gaming tax is a full and final satisfaction of the income tax
obligation of the operator for the period involved,” the TRA states.
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