Lottoland is facing a new set of regulatory headaches in New South Wales where government officials refer to the company’s products as, “synthetic lotteries.” It’s just the latest regulatory headache for the company whose business model is drastically disrupting local lotteries, and local lottery revenue.
Details on how exactly New South Wales plans on regulation Lottoland remain sketchy, but whatever the territory comes up with, it’s unlikely to be friendly towards lottery wagering. In a statement to the press, as reported on by the Sydney Morning Herald, Deputy Premier John Barilaro said:
Synthetic lotteries do not have the same level of consumer protection as domestic lotteries. Our concern is that many customers buy tickets in a synthetic lottery, believing they’re entering a lottery, when in fact they are betting on the outcome of that lottery. A domestic lottery has a guaranteed prize pool, and is bound by strict terms and conditions and robust regulations.
Barilaro went on to say that synthetic lotteries were really nothing more than, “online gambling.” While Lottoland’s business model is different than that of government-sponsored lotteries, most would agree that both games are definitely forms of gambling.
For its part, Lottoland seems amiable to government regulation, at least in the form of new taxes. In a statement to the Daily Telegraph, a spokesmen for Lottoland said the company supports a point-of-consumption tax that would be paid at the national level. While this would cost Lottoland a bit of cash, it might also serve to keep the “synthetic lottery” debate out of the hands of smaller territorial governments.