Since the government of Trinidad and Tobago passed legislation a decade ago to collect a 10 percent tax on every wager placed at betting shops, several of those businesses have closed. Peter George, owner of Fairchance Racing Service in the island’s capital, Port of Spain, said, “Everyone knows we need to have this legislation changed immediately. The racing pools are not making the money they used to make in years gone by and in the last decade we have seen the closure of at least ten pools. We cannot go on with the 10 percent turnover tax. It is hurting racing.” George said his own business recently closed and 300 people lost their jobs due to the tax.
George added unlike 10 years ago, bettors now have alternative ways to place bets that allow them to bypass the tax. He said employees of these unregulated operations actually seek out business in the legitimate betting shops. “They are coming into our establishment and soliciting our clients with the no-tax initiative. It is illegal,” George said.
In addition, George added that a customer “has the ability to do online betting, calling anywhere in the world and get a tax-free bet, so there is no reason for him to pay 10 percent tax on a bet. Nowhere in the world is there a turnover tax. Only in the Caribbean, Jamaica, Barbados or Guyana does such a tax exist. This is impacting negatively on the industry.”
What’s more, competition from area casinos has led to a decrease of 40 percent in betting volume at local sports books since 2011, George said. “They have free drinks and free food to entice the punter and he can sit and play the slots all day.”
George said the Betting Levy Board “is requesting more and more taxes from the pools and this is burdensome. We even get threats from the BLB, but the long and short of it is we cannot pay more than we are collecting.”
However, Kama Majaraj, the former chairman of the Betting Levy Board, said in 2012 the sports book industry actually took in billions of dollars, but only paid out $15 million in taxes. Maharaj said that figure should have been closer to $100 million.
George said the regional Bookmakers Association is proposing a flat annul licensing fee to replace the per-bet tax. “For the industry to survive we need to meet with the government and work out something which is amicable to all and will ensure that many more workers will be employed and not sent home. The ball is now in the government’s court,” he said.
