Lottoland Aus hits back at Tatts-backed ‘Lottoland’s Gotta Go’ campaign

Lottoland Australia has hit back at suggestions it is destroying the livelihoods of newsagents and not paying taxes, as claimed in a new ‘Lottoland’s Gotta Go!’ campaign backed by Tatts Group.

The anti-Lottoland campaign was launched this week by a coalition of newsagent and lottery operators, including Tatts and Jumbo, in an attempt to educate Australians about the alleged negative impact of “pretend lotteries”.

Claims made in the campaign include that Lottoland, which entered the Australian market in January 2016, is drawing profits away from small businesses and that lost tax revenue is leading to a cut in public funding.

However, Lottoland has since hit back at many of the claims made, pointing to the fact it pays both corporate and income tax, as well as GST taxes as of 1 July 2017, and that the size of the business is dwarfed by Tatts.

“Lottoland accounts for less than 1% of Tatts overall revenue, we are not having an impact on their business or returns to good causes,” the operator said.

“Traditional lotteries from around the world are struggling to attract, maintain and engage with consumers. The aim of Lottoland is to bring choice and value through innovation to Australian consumers.”

The ‘Lottoland’s Gotta Go!’ campaign is fronted by former chief minister of the Northern Territory, Paul Everingham, and claims 4,000 businesses and 15,796 jobs are under threat from the operator.

“Lottery betting schemes are made to ‘look and feel’ like traditional lottery games, creating confusion for customers who may have no idea they are actually betting on lottery results with a bookie,” Everingham said.

“It’s much bigger than just individual consumers however, as betting companies like Lottoland pay no lotteries taxes; taxes which should be put back into local hospitals, schools and roads,” he added.

The full version of Lottoland’s rebuff of the campaign can be found here.