A long-term lottery deal has been blasted by a leading gambling reform campaigner although a treasurer insists it won’t prop up the state’s budget bottom line.
Australia’s largest lottery operator, The Lottery Corporation, has struck a 40-year licence extension with the Victorian government, well before its current agreement was due to expire in 2028.
The deal, coinciding with the release of Tuesday’s Victorian state budget, included an upfront “premium payment” of $1.145 billion.
Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said the extension set back sweeping reforms aimed at minimising gambling harm.
Future governments would be “handcuffed” to the industry, even as the federal government moves to shut down online lotteries, he added
“I was shocked,” Mr Costello told AAP on Wednesday.
“It breached their promises for Victoria to lead reform in gambling, and proved that gambling still is the puppet master for this Labor government.”
Victoria previously operated on a 10-year licence with the company, which runs brands such as The Lott and Keno.
The state budget forecast a $1 billion operating surplus in 2026/27, when it is due to receive the upfront payment across two instalments.
Shadow attorney-general James Newbury said the government’s “very big bad deal” had broken with convention and was holding up the surplus.
“The deal was done behind closed doors, without public tendering, and includes a windfall cash payment to the government of over one billion dollars next year,” he said.
Treasurer Jaclyn Symes categorically denied the lump sum contributed to projected surpluses for this financial year and next.
“The money comes in but because of the … accounting treatment for this type of transaction it flows through the forwards over the duration of the 40-year extension,” she told the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s annual post-budget lunch.
The Lottery Corporation has 40-year lottery deals with NSW, South Australia and the NT, and a 65-year deal with Queensland until 2072.
Its licence with the ACT is indefinite and a five-year contract with Tasmania will expire in 2030.
Premier Jacinta Allan declared the length of the licence was nationally consistent and denied Victoria’s contract wasn’t put on the open market.
“It went through a tender process and we’ve got the best value out of this process for Victorians,” she said.
Victoria’s revenue from public lotteries is expected to grow from $642 million in 2026/27 to $756 million in 2029/30.
The growing tax take is slated to offset forecast revenue from poker machines falling from an expected high of $1.6 billion in 2027/28 to $1.45 billion in 2029/30, resulting from the introduction of mandatory carded play.