Sydney's two major casinos have agreed to cough up more cash after settling tax negotiations with the NSW Government last week.
Under the new legislation, table rates for The Star and Crown Sydney casinos will increase from 17.91 per cent to 20.25 per cent, backdated to July 1, 2023. That equals a hefty chunk of change, given that a fair heap of cash rolls through casinos.
Heftier taxes on profits from poker machines and gambling tables for these two big casinos were first announced by the former Dominic Perrottet-led government in December 2022. While the increase had high hopes of raising $350 million across three years, it was announced without first consulting The Star or Crown Sydney.
The new agreement, signed by treasurer Daniel Mookhey, will give The Star a reprieve on planned poker machine tax increases until 2030 and will see the casino pay a transitional levy on poker machines until a new duty regime commences on July 1, 2030. As mentioned, they'll have to start paying the higher tax rates for table profits from now (and backdated), though.
There have been no changes to the Crown’s previously signed agreement with the Perrottet government from 2022.
Additionally, the introduced legislation guarantees more than 3,000 jobs at The Star over the next six years.