Keno Tax

Who pays the tax?

Keno entities pay the tax on their net keno revenue (NKR), including GST, from keno players located in Victoria at the time of playing keno.

Keno entities include:

• a keno licensee in Victoria
• a person authorised or permitted to conduct a keno game, in Victoria or elsewhere, under the law of another state or territory.

How the tax is calculated

Keno tax is calculated on the NKR of a keno entity each month at the rate of 24.24%. This is GST inclusive. There is no tax-free threshold. 

A keno entity’s NKR for a month is calculated by assessing their total amount minus their total prizes, where:

The total amount is what is received by the keno entity for games played by players in Victoria, including the face value of any free games* played.

Total prizes includes the sum of two types of deductions: 

• the total amount of all prizes paid or payable in the month directly to players located in Victoria at the time of playing keno, including net prizes paid in relation to free keno games*, other than prizes paid into or out of a prize pool, and
• the total of all amounts received by the keno entity in the month for games played by players who were located in Victoria at the time of playing keno that are:
  • paid into a prize pool, and
  • required to be paid or payable as prizes to players of keno games (whether located in Victoria or elsewhere).

* Free keno games: A free keno game is played by a player who pays nothing, or less than the face value of the game, to play. Net prizes, in relation to a free keno game, means the prizes payable for the keno game minus the face value of the keno game.

Offsetting negative NKR results

A keno entity is liable to pay keno tax each month. If the NKR for a month is a negative amount, it may only be offset against future positive NKR for the purpose of determining the tax payable for that relevant month. It cannot be used to offset any prior month(s). 

Example

In this above example, the entity incurred a -$400,000 NKR in September. It is only entitled to offset the negative amount from its NKR in October (and November) to calculate the tax payable in these months. It cannot be applied to past month(s), even if the entity had not paid its July or August tax liability.

If the keno entity ceases operating or cancels its registration before the negative NKR is fully offset, the negative amount is forfeited.

Determining a player’s location

A keno player’s location is assessed at the time of playing keno. ​

In-person keno

Any keno games played at a Victorian venue are captured based on the location of the venue.

Online keno

Keno entities must take all reasonable steps to ensure keno games played online are captured based on the physical location (geo-location) of the keno player at the time of playing keno. 

In recognition that it may be difficult for some keno entities to identify the physical location of a player, entities are permitted to rely on specified address information given to them by players as being their location.

Keno entities can use the player’s residential address if they are an individual, or their principal place of business if they are a corporate player. This approach cannot be applied if the keno entity knows, or has reasonable grounds to suspect, that the address is not the location of the player when they play the game.

Administration

We are responsible for administering keno tax, including collecting the tax and managing compliance. Interest and penalty tax may apply where a keno entity fails to pay. We also undertake compliance activities to ensure keno player address information is accurate.

Reporting requirements

Register

Keno entities must register with us for keno tax. If you are a new keno entity, you must register before the end of the first month in which you become liable to pay keno tax.

Register for keno tax

Lodge a return and pay the tax monthly

Once registered, you must submit a return and pay the tax monthly.

Returns and payment are due within 30 days of the end of each month.

You must submit a return even if no tax is payable for the month.

Lodge a keno tax monthly return 

Cancel your registration

If circumstances change and you are no longer liable for the tax and do not expect to incur any liability in the future, you must let us know and submit a final return within 14 days of no longer being liable for the tax. 

Cancel your keno tax registration