程阳：澳大利亚博彩业综述

The Gaming Industry in Australia

 

 

Traditionally, the main forms of gambling in Australia were racing, wagering and lotteries. Since the 1980s, liberalization of the industry has led to a proliferation of gambling products. Today, the gambling industry can be described in two broad categories: playing games of chance for money (gaming), and placing a bet on the outcome of a live event (wagering or betting).

 

Gaming includes lotteries, poker or gaming machines, casino gaming, keno and interactive gaming.1

 

Sports betting includes wagering on approved types of local, national or international sporting activities, whether on or off course, in person, by telephone or via the internet.

 

Racing betting includes legal betting on the outcome of horse (thoroughbred and harness) and greyhound races with bookmakers and totalizators, both on course and off course.

 

Gambling revenue per capita in Australia has increased by 0.5% from US$8,371 (A$9,491) in 2005–06 to US$7,495 (A$9,536) in 2006–07. Gaming represents the greatest portion of gambling revenue and is dominated by gaming machines. During the period of 2006–07, New South Wales (NSW) had the highest share of total gambling expenditure (43.9%), followed by Victoria (25.4%) and Queensland (15.7%).2

 

Gaming

 

Gaming dominates the gambling industry in Australia. In 2006–07, total gambling industry revenue was US$120.5 billion  (A$153.3 billion), of which gaming contributed US$105.1 billion (A$133.8 billion) (87%).3 The rapid expansion of the gaming sector has been driven by the relaxation of statutory gaming restrictions and developments in gaming technology. Legislative changes that allowed for expansion of gaming machines into hotels and clubs has provided a considerable boost to the gaming sector. Gaming machines, especially poker machines, are now the major source of gaming industry expenditure. In Australia in 2006–07, more than 83% (US$87.5 billion or A$111.3 billion)4 of gambling revenue was sourced from gaming machines.

source>> 

 

Lottery products

 

Lottery operators in Australia are both government owned and privately owned. Privately owned operators include Tattersall’s in Victoria and Queensland and the Territory Lottery Company in the Northern Territory. In 2006–07, total expenditure on lottery products in Australia was US$0.98 billion (A$1.3 billion).5 NSW Lotteries is government owned but is currently being offered for sale (2009). The Victorian government granted a license for lottery products to a foreign controlled entity, Intralot, in late 2007. The licenses for wagering and gaming in Victoria expire in 2012.

 

Casino gaming

 

IBISWorld estimates that in constant 2008 prices, the casino industry will generate US$3.36 billion (A$4.28 billion) in revenue in 2008–09.

 

Exports (i.e., expenditure by international high rollers in casinos in Australia) are estimated at US$738 million (A$939 million) in 2008–09, or 1.5% higher than in 2007–08. The increase is below inflation, so the change from 2007–08 is due to the generally marginal growth in international visitors to Australia and increasing global competition for high rollers, particularly from casinos in the Asian region.

 

The segmentation of the casino sector is highlighted by the revenues the various establishments generate. The small casinos in the small states and territories e.g., Northern Territory (2 casinos), Tasmania (2), Townsville (1), Cairns (1) and Canberra (1) — have total revenues of up to US$39 million (A$50 million) each. The casinos established in Adelaide, on the Gold Coast, Perth and Brisbane, have revenues of between US$79 million (A$100 million) and US$275 million (A$350 million) each. The very large, comparable-sized casinos of international standard in Melbourne and Sydney have revenues of more than US$495 million (A$630 million) each. The Sydney and Melbourne casinos dominate the industry, accounting for more than 59% of total revenue.6

 

Wagering

 

Wagering in Australia is conducted primarily in thoroughbred racing, harness racing and greyhound racing. In 2006–07, the total revenue in racing wagering was US$13.5 billion (A$17.4 billion), which constituted 89% of total wagering in Australia. Wagering on sports events (also known as sports betting) comprises the balance of wagering revenue.

 

Industry participants

 

In December 2007, Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd., one of Australia’s leading players, split into two separate listed entities: Consolidated Media Holdings and Crown Ltd. Crown holds all the casinorelated assets. In May 2007, Crown opened its first casino in Macau, the six-star Crown Macau. Crown’s second Macau casino, City of Dreams, was constructed in association with Melco PBL and opened in June 2009. In late 2007, Crown acquired the US-based Cannery Casino Resorts, which includes the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Pennsylvania. In February 2008, Crown announced that it acquired a 2.5% stake in Harrah’s and a 4.9% stake in Station Casinos, both major casino operators in the US.7

 

Australian forms of gambling

 

The following table provides an overview of the types of gambling that are legally permitted and currently being undertaken by Australian  residents and overseas visitors in each state and territory. Forms of gambling currently conducted by state/territory

 

 

[1] Gambling legally permitted

 

 

---

 Gambling not permitted  

 

 

 # Gaming machines are permitted in the casino only in Western Australia, and hotels and clubs in ACT.  

 

 ^ Keno is permitted in the casino only in Western Australia.  

 

 * Australian residents are not permitted to access interactive gaming sites under the Commonwealth Interactive Gambling Act 2001 that came into effect in August 2001. Interactive gaming exists in the Northern Territory, but is only available to overseas visitors.  

 

 ** Betting exchange wagering is currently undertaken in Tasmania by way of a Tasmanian Gaming Licence. The Tasmanian Gaming Commission only reports government revenue for this product which is recorded under interactive gaming.  

 

（报告全文，密码进入）