Gaming Control Amendment (Betting Exchange) Regulations 2006

Gaming Control Amendment (Betting Exchange) Regulations 2006

I, the Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, make the following regulations under the Gaming Control Act 1993 .

21 August 2006

W. J. E. COX

Governor

By His Excellency's Command,

MICHAEL AIRD

Treasurer

1.   Short title

These regulations may be cited as the Gaming Control Amendment (Betting Exchange) Regulations 2006 .

2.   Commencement

These regulations take effect on the day on which their making is notified in the Gazette.

3.   Principal Regulations

In these regulations, the Gaming Control Regulations 2004 are referred to as the Principal Regulations.

4.    Regulation 5A inserted

After regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations , the following regulation is inserted:

5A.   Betting exchange guarantee payments and offsets

(1)  In this regulation –

assessable financial year means –

(a) the financial year ending 30 June 2006; and

(b) each of the 5 financial years immediately following the financial year referred to in paragraph (a) ;

base year means the financial year ending 30 June 2005;

financial year means the 12-month period ending on 30 June in any year;

guarantee payment means a special payment that a betting exchange operator is required to make to the Treasurer so as to guarantee that the TRI's expected levels of TOTE TRI funding are not diminished by the impact of the operator's Tasmanian betting exchange operation;

inactive period, in relation to Tasmanian betting exchange operations, means a period during which, because of licence suspension, technical difficulty or any other reason, the operations are not conducted;

initial operator means the holder of the first Tasmanian gaming licence to be endorsed with a betting exchange endorsement;

notionally assured amount of TOTE TRI funding means –

(a) for the base year, an amount of $17 889 538.00; and

(b) for a subsequent financial year, the amount referred to in paragraph (a) multiplied by the relevant factor; and

(c) in the case of the second year alone (in addition to the amount calculated under paragraph (b) ) an amount of $5 000 000.00;

product levy means product levy payable under section 150AC of the Act;

relevant factor, for a financial year, has the same meaning as in section 146 of the Act;

relevant financial year, for a formula, means the financial year that the formula applies to;

relevant operator, for a formula, means the betting exchange operator that the formula applies to;

second year means the financial year immediately following the financial year immediately following the base year;

taxation means taxation payable under section 150A(7A) of the Act;

total amount of available TRI funding, for a financial year, means the sum of the following:

(a) the actual amount of TOTE TRI funding for that year;

(b) the product levy for that year;

(c) the amount of taxation for that year;

TOTE TRI funding means amounts contributed to the TRI by TOTE Tasmania –

(a) in product fees pursuant to section 10 of the TOTE Tasmania (Racing Regulation) Act 2004 ; and

(b) from amounts set aside pursuant to section 11(1)(b) of the TOTE Tasmania (Racing Regulation) Act 2004 ; and

(c) from unclaimed dividends and unclaimed refunds pursuant to section 11(1)(a) of the TOTE Tasmania (Racing Regulation) Act 2004 ; and

(d) by way of payments (other than from amounts made available to TOTE Tasmania under section 152 of the Act) disclosed in any financial report required to be prepared by TOTE Tasmania under the Corporations Act;

TRI means Tasmanian racing industry.

(2)  In a formula in this regulation –

F is the total amount of available TRI funding for the relevant financial year;

G is the amount of the guarantee payment to which the formula applies;

N is the notionally assured amount of TOTE TRI funding for the relevant financial year;

P is the amount of product levy payable for the relevant financial year by the relevant operator;

Sg is the sum of the guarantee payments payable by the relevant operator under this regulation for financial years preceding the relevant financial year;

So is the sum of the offsets that the relevant operator has claimed, and is entitled to claim, for financial years preceding the relevant financial year;

T is the amount of taxation payable by the relevant operator for the relevant financial year.

(3)  A betting exchange operator must make a guarantee payment to the Treasurer for an assessable financial year if the following formula applies to the operator for that year: 

N – F > 0

(4)  A betting exchange operator is not required to make a guarantee payment to the Treasurer for an assessable financial year if the following formula applies to the operator for that year: 

N – F < (or equal to) 0

(5)  If subregulation (3) applies, the amount of the guarantee payment is to be calculated in accordance with the following formula: 

G = N – F

(6)  A betting exchange operator may claim an offset against the taxation and product levy payable by the operator for an assessable financial year, and the Treasurer is to allow such a claim, if both of the following formulas apply to the operator for that year: 

(a) N – F < 0;

(b) Sg – So > 0.

(7)  If a claim is allowed under subregulation (6) , the amount of the offset is to be calculated in accordance with whichever of the following three formulas yields the lowest amount: 

(a) F – N;

(b) 50% x (P + T);

(c) Sg – So.

(8)  Despite subregulation (3) , the Commission, by instrument in writing, is to discharge a betting exchange operator from a liability to make a guarantee payment for an assessable financial year if the Commission, on the advice of the Secretary of the Department, is satisfied that any diminution in the actual amount of TOTE TRI funding for that assessable financial year, relative to the preceding financial year, is –

(a) not attributable to the impact of the operator's Tasmanian betting exchange operations; or

(b) only partially attributable to the impact of the operator's Tasmanian betting exchange operations.

(9)  Under subregulation (8) , a betting exchange operator's liability to make a guarantee payment for an assessable financial year is to be –

(a) discharged completely if paragraph (a) of that subregulation applies; or

(b) discharged to such extent as the Commission, on the advice of the Secretary of the Department, determines is fair and proportionate in the circumstances if paragraph (b) of that subregulation applies.

(10)  For the purposes of this regulation, a sum or amount that is required to be calculated for a financial year may, if circumstances so require, be proportionately adjusted so as to apply to a period that is shorter than a financial year.

(11)  Despite any other provision of this regulation –

(a) a betting exchange operator's liability to make guarantee payments under this regulation expires once the operator has been conducting Tasmanian betting exchange operations for a period equivalent to 5 years (exclusive of any inactive period); and

(b) a betting exchange operator is entitled to claim an offset in respect of a guarantee payment only if –

(i) the operator's betting exchange endorsement was in force for the whole, or any part, of the assessable financial year in respect of which the offset is claimed; and

(ii) the offset is claimed against a guarantee payment made under that particular endorsement.

(12)  A betting exchange operator must make a guarantee payment within 30 days after the Treasurer makes written demand for its payment or within such longer period after the making of that written demand as the Treasurer may allow.

(13)  An unpaid guarantee payment, or any unpaid part of a guarantee payment, may be recovered by the Treasurer in a court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to the Crown.

(14)  This regulation applies to a betting exchange operator only if that betting exchange operator –

(a) is the initial operator; and

(b) holds the only Tasmanian gaming licence with a betting exchange endorsement.

(15)  However, where this regulation ceases to apply to a betting exchange operator by virtue of subregulation (14) , the cessation does not –

(a) affect the operation of the regulation, or anything duly done or suffered under the regulation, before the cessation; or

(b) affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under the regulation before the cessation; or

(c) affect any investigation, legal proceeding or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation or liability –

and any investigation, legal proceeding or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced as if the operative parts of this regulation had not ceased to have effect.

Displayed and numbered in accordance with the Rules Publication Act 1953.

Notified in the Gazette on 30 August 2006

These regulations are administered in the Department of Treasury and Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the regulation)

These regulations amend the Gaming Control Regulations 2004 by making provision for betting exchange guarantee payments.