Hills said the expected introduction of a ‘point of consumption’ tax in a number of states in Australia will place profitability in the country “under pressure” and it will now undertake a “strategic review” of its business in Australia.
According to the Financial Times newspaper, people close to the bookmaker said this could lead to Hills offloading its Australian unit, which generated £1.6bn (€1.8bn/$2.2bn) in revenue last year, representing approximately 7% of total revenue at the company.
However, sources have also told the newspaper that Hills could instead look to merge with another Australian betting business or spin-off into a joint venture with a local partner in the country.
At the time Australia was a prime opportunity as it had passed gambling laws, but now the Australian government is considering a new tax on gambling revenue similar to the UK’s VAT. It would mean that the Aussie government could tax bets made by Australians even if they are betting on a site based outside of Australia.
There are also moves to bring in a credit betting ban that is causing William Hill some concerns. As a result the company has begun a strategic review of the division. In 2016 its Australian offshoot brought in seven per cent of William Hill's £1.6bn revenues.
Source: GMB / IGaming Business
