New 20 Year Exclusivity for Tabcorp in New South Wales

Giant Australian gambling company Tabcorp have announced their latest agreement with the New South Wales (NSW) government granting them exclusivity in the state until 2033. They have been in negotiations with the state throughout this year, and have previously announced – back on June 20th – that a provisional agreement had been come to.

With Australian gambling laws varying across state lines, this exclusivity in NSW will allow Tabcorp to run totalizer and fixed odd betting in retail environments without any competition. As the sports betting network in Australia is one of the most profitable, this is big news for the company, whose subsidiary Tab Limited (TAB) will continue to be the sole operator.

This piece of Australia gambling news won’t come as a surprise to anyone in the country, but it comes as a period of uncertainty enters the Australian gambling market.

With a new government winning the recent elections, gambling regulation across the country is likely to change, perhaps drastically. One of the campaign promises from the now government was to return much of the regulation of gambling to the individual states. While NSW already had the power to renegotiate this exclusivity deal, they could soon also have the power to decide on online casinos.

Perhaps online casinos in Australia could be a reality in the near future, and gambling enthusiasts up and down the country will be waiting with baited breath to see what the new government proposes. Should changes allow Australian gamblers to play online, then it will be the states who benefit, therefore, not the federal government.

For now, though, gamblers in NSW will have to contend themselves with TAB. With a payment of AUD 75 million coming the way of the state government from the deal – before any tax take, that is – it is definitely sure to swell the coffers of the state in the short term.