Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981

Part I — Betting Duties

General betting duty

General betting duty

1

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Payment and recovery of general betting duty

2

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Allowance for hedging bets

3

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Bets on more than one contingency

4

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Calculation of stake

5

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Pool betting duty

Pool betting duty

6

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Amount of pool betting duty

7

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Payment and recovery of pool betting duty

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General

Prohibitions for protection of revenue

9

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Definition of pool betting

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Definition of coupon betting

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Supplementary provisions

12

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Part II — Gaming Duties

Gaming licence duty

Gaming licences

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Gaming licence duty

14

Gaming without duly paid licence

15

Supplementary provisions as to gaming licence duty

16

Bingo duty

Bingo duty

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• (1) A duty of excise, to be known as bingo duty, shall be charged—

• (a) on the playing of bingo in the United Kingdom, and

• (b) at the rate of 10 per cent of a person’s bingo promotion profits for an accounting period.

• (2) Subsection (1) is subject to the exemptions specified in Part 1 of Schedule 3 to this Act.

• (2A) Bingo duty is not charged on the playing of a game of bingo which is not licensed bingo if every person playing the game participates by the use of—

• (a) the internet,

• (b) telephone,

• (c) television,

• (d) radio, or

• (e) any other kind of electronic or other technology for facilitating communication.

• (3) The amount of a person’s bingo promotion profits for an accounting period is—

• (a) the amount of the person’s bingo receipts for the period (calculated in accordance with section 19), minus

• (b) the amount of his expenditure on bingo winnings for the period (calculated in accordance with section 20).

• (4) Bingo duty charged in respect of a person’s bingo promotion profits shall be paid by him.

• (5) Where the amount that would be charged in respect of a person’s bingo promotion profits for an accounting period is less than £1, no duty shall be charged.

Payment and recovery of bingo duty

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• (1) For the purposes of section 17 an accounting period ends, and another begins, at the end of the last Sunday in each calendar month.

• (2) But regulations under paragraph 9 of Schedule 3 to this Act may make provision in place of subsection (1) for the purposes of the application of section 17 to specified persons or in specified circumstances.

• (3) Regulations made by virtue of subsection (2) may make transitional provision.

Play in more than one place

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• (1) A person has bingo receipts for an accounting period if payments fall due in the period in respect of entitlement to participate in bingo promoted by him.

• (2) The amount of the person’s bingo receipts for the accounting period is the aggregate of those payments.

• (3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2)—

• (a) an amount in respect of entitlement to participate in a game of bingo is to be treated as falling due in the accounting period in which the game is played,

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (c) it is immaterial whether an amount falls due to be paid to the promoter or to another person,

• (d) it is immaterial whether an amount is described as a fee for participation, as a stake, or partly as one and partly as the other, and

• (e) where a sum is paid partly in respect of entitlement to participate in a game of bingo and partly in respect of another matter—

• (i) such part of the sum as is applied to, or properly attributable to, entitlement to participate in the game shall be treated as an amount falling due in respect of entitlement to participate in the game, and

• (ii) the remainder shall be disregarded.

Supplementary provisions as to bingo duty

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• (1) A person’s expenditure on bingo winnings for an accounting period is the aggregate of the values of prizes provided by him in that period by way of winnings at bingo promoted by him.

• (2) Where a prize is obtained by the promoter from a person not connected with him, the cost to the promoter shall be treated as the value of the prize for the purpose of subsection (1).

• (3) Where a prize is a voucher which—

• (a) may be used in place of money as whole or partial payment for benefits of a specified kind obtained from a specified person,

• (b) specifies an amount as the sum or maximum sum in place of which the voucher may be used, and

• (c) does not fall within subsection (2),

the specified amount is the value of the voucher for the purpose of subsection (1).

• (4) Where a prize is a voucher (whether or not it falls within subsection (2)) it shall be treated as having no value for the purpose of subsection (1) if—

• (a) it does not satisfy subsection (3)(a) and (b), or

• (b) its use as described in subsection (3)(a) is subject to a specified restriction, condition or limitation which may make the value of the voucher to the recipient significantly less than the amount mentioned in subsection (3)(b).

• (5) In the case of a prize which—

• (a) is neither money nor a voucher, and

• (b) does not fall within subsection (2),

the value of the prize for the purpose of subsection (1) is—

• (i) the amount which the prize would cost the promoter if obtained from a person not connected with him, or

• (ii) where no amount can reasonably be determined in accordance with sub-paragraph (i), nil.

• (6) For the purpose of this section—

• (a) a reference to connection between two persons shall be construed in accordance with section 1122 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 (connected persons), and

• (b) an amount paid by way of value added tax on the acquisition of a thing shall be treated as part of its cost (irrespective of whether or not the amount is taken into account for the purpose of a credit or refund).

Gaming machine licence duty

Gaming machine licences

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Gaming machine licence duty

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Amount of duty

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Restrictions on provision of gaming machines

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Meaning of " gaming machine "

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Supplementary provisions as to gaming machine licence duty

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Part III — General

Offences by bodies corporate

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—Where an offence under ... paragraph 16 of Schedule 3 to this Act has been committed by a body corporate, every person who at the date of the commission of the offence was a director, general manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence unless he proves—

• (a) that the offence was committed without his consent or connivance, and

• (b) that he exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and in all the circumstances.

Recovery of duty by distress in England and Wales

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Recovery of duty by poinding in Scotland

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Priority in bankruptcy etc. of debts in respect of duty

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Protection of officers

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Where an officer takes any action in pursuance of instructions of the Commissioners or a Collector of Customs and Excise given in connection with the enforcement of the enactments relating to bingo duty and, apart from the provisions of this section, the officer would in taking that action be committing an offence under the enactments relating to betting or gaming, he shall not be guilty of that offence.

Orders and regulations

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• (1) Any power conferred by any provision of this Act to make an order or regulations shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

• (2) . . ., any statutory instrument made under any power conferred by this Act shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the House of Commons.

• (3) But in the case of an order under section 26H(4) which has the effect of adding to the class of activities in respect of which remote gaming duty is chargeable—

• (a) subsection (2) above shall not apply, and

• (b) the order may not be made unless a draft has been laid before and approved by resolution of the House of Commons.

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interpretation

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• (1) In this Act—

• “the Commissioners” means the Commissioners of Customs and Excise;

• “foreign tax” means a tax, including any sort of duty or levy, imposed in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom (see also subsection (1B));

• “gaming” means playing a game of chance for a prize ... ;

• “the prescribed sum” in relation to the penalty provided for an offence, means—if the offence was committed in England or Wales, the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 32 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (£1,000 or other sum substituted by order under section 143(1) of that Act); andif the offence was committed in Scotland, the prescribed sum within the meaning of subsection (8) of section 225 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (£5,000 or other sum substituted by order under subsection (4) of that section) and if the offence was committed in Northern Ireland, the prescribed sum within the meaning of Article 4 of the Fines and Penalties (Northern Ireland) Order 1984.

• (1A) In the definition of “gaming” in subsection (1)—

• (a) “game of chance” has the meaning given by section 6(2) of the Gambling Act 2005,

• (b) “playing a game of chance” is to be read in accordance with section 6(3) of that Act, and

• (c) “prize” does not include the opportunity to play the game again.

• (1B) A reference in this Act to a foreign tax does not include any penalty, interest, surcharge or other such cost arising in connection with the tax (whether or not recoverable as if it were that tax).

• (2) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that the imposition by this Act of general betting duty, pool betting duty, bingo duty or remote gaming duty does not make lawful anything which is unlawful apart from this Act.

Consequential and transitional provisions and repeals

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• (1) Schedule 5 (consequential amendments) and Schedule 6 (transitional and saving provisions) to this Act shall have effect, but without prejudice to the operation of sections 15 to 17 of the Interpretation Act 1978 (which relate to the effect of repeals).

• (2) The enactments specified in Schedule 7 to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent mentioned in the third column of that Schedule

Short title, construction, commencement and extent

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• (1) This Act may be cited as the Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981.

• (2) This Act shall be construed as one with the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.

• (3) The following provisions of this Act do not extend to Northern Ireland—

• (a) . . .

• (b) sections 29 and 30;

• (c) . . .

• (d) paragraph 15 of Schedule 4;

. . .

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SCHEDULE 1

Definitions

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General administration

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3

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Notification to Commissioners as to carrying on of betting business

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Requirement of permit for carrying on pool betting business

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Books, records, accounts, et ceteralaetc.

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7

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9

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Powers to enter premises and obtain information

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Power of Commissioners to estimate general betting duty payable

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Disputes as to computation of pool betting duty

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Enforcement

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15

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16

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SCHEDULE 2

Application for and duration of licence

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Charge of duty in respect of short licence periods

2

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Regulations

3

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Inspection of premises

4

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Power to estimate duty

5

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Persons from whom duty recoverable

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Enforcement

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Co-operation with Gaming Board

8

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Modification of agreements

9

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SCHEDULE 3

Part I — Exemption from Duty

Domestic bingo

1

In calculating liability to bingo duty no account shall be taken of bingo played both in a private dwelling and on a domestic occasion.

Club bingo

2

• (1) This paragraph applies where entitlement to participate in non-licensed bingo depends on a person’s being—

• (a) a member of a group or organisation,

• (b) a guest of a member of a group or organisation, or

• (c) a guest of a group or organisation.

• (2) Payments in respect of entitlement to participate in the non-licensed bingo shall not be brought into account in relation to any person for the purpose of section 19.

• (3) Winnings at the non-licensed bingo shall not be brought into account in relation to any person for the purpose of section 20.

Charitable and other similar entertainments

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• (1) Bingo duty shall not be charged in respect of bingo provided by way of an amusement at an entertainment (whether limited to one day or extending over two or more days) being a bazaar, sale of work, fête, dinner, dance, sporting or athletic event or other entertainment of a similar character, in compliance with the following conditions: —

• (a) the whole proceeds of the entertainment (including the proceeds of bingo) after deducting the expenses of it (including any expenses incurred in connection with bingo and the provision of prizes) will be devoted to purposes other than private gain ; and

• (b) the opportunity to play bingo is not the only, or the only substantial, inducement to persons to attend the entertainment.

• (2) In construing sub-paragraph (1) above, proceeds of an entertainment promoted on behalf of a society falling within this sub-paragraph which are applied for any purpose calculated to benefit the society as a whole shall not be held to be applied for purposes of private gain by reason only that their application for that purpose results in benefit to any person as an individual.

• (3) A society falls within sub-paragraph (2) above if it is established and conducted either—

• (a) wholly for purposes other than purposes of any commercial undertaking, or

• (b) wholly or mainly for the purpose of participation in 01 support of athletic sports or athletic games ;

and in this paragraph " society" includes any club, institution, organisation or association of persons, by whatever name called, and any separate branch or section of such a club, institution, organisation or association.

4

• (1) Bingo duty shall not be charged in respect of bingo played at an entertainment promoted otherwise than for purposes of private gain in compliance with the following conditions:—

• (a) not more than one payment (whether by way of entrance-fee, payment for cards or otherwise) is made by each player of bingo at the entertainment, and no such payment exceeds £1.50 ;

• (b) the total Value of all prizes won at bingo played at the entertainment does not exceed £150 ;