You are a native Australian and you have just managed to walk away with the life changing contents on one of NetEnt, Microgaming, Playtech, et al’s mega progressive pokie jackpots, where to next! Once the initial excitement of triggering a big win has passed, do I need to pay some form of taxes on my big win? That is one of the first commonly asked questions by the multitude of Oz players lucky enough to scoop a major benefit from their favorite on-line gambling hobby, usually online pokies or blackjack games. The simple answer is No… Maybe, let us discuss this further!

Australian tax laws make provision for no specific coding to answer the simple question; however, there remains an underlying legal principle that has been tested and decided upon in a myriad of court cases that set new legal precedents. Your potential contribution to the Australian Tax Office or ATO would depend on whether the entity deems you to conduct a business of one type or another or not, which has little to do with the fact that it might not be your main income source and considered aside from and full tax laws.

There exists possible grey areas; are you running a gambling related business concern that allows you to claim any expenses on internet connection, computer hardware, or alternative gaming related business expenses that you currently claim as tax deductions? If the answer to the above question is No, then you are under no obligation to report any winnings on your tax returns and unable to claim losses or expenses as potential tax deductions.

The ATO has a very simple overriding view; it cannot regard taxpayers that engage in no more than betting activities as conducting a business, irrespective of the scale or frequency of their activities. No pastime turns into a business merely because a taxpayer devotes an extensive amount of time to his or her pastime even if they have retired from any of full-time profession.

Okay you’ve established your multi-million dollar big Pokie win is safely protected in your bank account with the tax man having no interest in laying his grubby little paws on it, so what to do next. You have won multimillions, enough to live quite comfortably as a financially independent person, allowing you to escape the drudgery of a 40 hour per week, daily moneymaking activity such as work or running your own business.

Everyone dreams of hitting the big jackpot, but what happens after you’ve achieved your dream win? In post-win interviews the most common answers relate to purchasing, renovating or extending a home, buying a new car, going on a dream vacation, and lastly providing for family members. The greatest error would be to live the dream life as described in the previous sentence, which quite often is a misconception since we all have different requirements from life to remain happy.

Happiness should be the crux of your life after making it big, not just in material possessions, but filling your life with the often-ethereal issues that makes us happy human beings at the core. At this point the most important aspect, after protecting your money and financial future by consulting with financial advisers, would be firstly to spend serious quiet time and determine what actually makes you happy as a person.

Simple as this may seem since we’ve been living with ourselves all our lives we’ve always had our futures restrictively mapped out via ambitions relating to our work, which to a great extent controlled our social interactions and behaviors. This is one of the main reasons why so many instant winners wind up dead broke a couple of years later, they fell for the common misconception that physical possessions or their location will solely be responsible for their and their loved ones’ happiness.

Often the best solution is not to make hasty decisions while in periods of emotional upheaval, continue working until you’ve sorted out what your true desires are. Continue with your favorite pastimes such as spending time with your family, attend car races, going to the pub with mates, and definitely do continue playing pokies to relax and take your mind off.