Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981

Gaming machine licence duty

21 Gaming machine licences

(1) Except in the cases specified in Part I of Schedule 4 to this Act, the authority of a licence (to be known as a gaming machine licence) shall be required for the provision of any gaming machine (other than a penny machine) for gaming on any premises situated in Great Britain.

(2) A gaming machine licence shall be either—

(a) a whole-year licence for the period from 1st October in any year to 30th September in the following year (both dates inclusive), or

(b) a half-year licence for the period from 1st October in any year to 31st March in the following year or from 1st April in any year to 30th September in that year (all dates inclusive).

22 Gaming machine licence duty

(1) A duty of excise shall be charged on gaming machine licences and the duty on a licence shall be determined by reference—

(a) to whether the premises in respect of which the licence is granted have or have not local authority approval under the Gaming Acts, and

(b) to whether the licence authorises the provision of machines chargeable at the lower, the higher or the peak rate and to the number of machines of each of those descriptions which it authorises.

(2) Subject to subsection (4) below, premises are to be treated as having local authority approval under the Gaming Acts if there is for the time being in force in respect of the premises—

(a) a permit granted under Schedule 3 to the [1976 c. 32.] Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 (permit for provision of amusements with prizes under section 16 of that Act), or

(b) a permit granted under section 34 of the [1968 c. 65.] Gaming Act 1968 (conditions under which gaming may be carried on by means of machines).

(3) Premises are also to be treated as having local authority approval under the Gaming Acts at any time when—

(a) there is for the time being in force in respect of them a licence under the Gaming Act 1968, and

(b) by virtue of a direction of the licensing authority under section 32 of the Gaming Act 1968 (approval for provision of more than two machines) section 34 of that Act has effect in relation to the premises.

(4) Premises are not to be treated as having local authority approval under the Gaming Acts if a club or a miners' welfare institute within the meaning of the Gaming Act 1968 is for the time being registered in respect of them under Part III of that Act (which regulates gaming by means of machines).

(5) Subject to subsection (6) below, for the purposes of a gaming machine licence—

(a) a machine is chargeable at the lower rate if it can only be played by the insertion into the machine of a coin or coins of a denomination, or aggregate denomination, not exceeding 2p;

(b) a machine is chargeable at the higher rate—

(i) if it is on premises which have local authority approval under the Gaming Acts and is not within paragraph (a) above, or

(ii) if it is not on such premises and it can only be played by the insertion into it of a coin or coins of a denomination, or aggregate denomination, exceeding 2p but not exceeding 5p; and

(c) a machine is chargeable at the peak rate in any other case.

(6) Where the game playable by means of a machine can be played more than once for the insertion of a coin or coins of a denomination, or aggregate denomination, exceeding a sum mentioned in subsection (5) above, the machine is to be treated for the purposes of that subsection as if it can only be played by the insertion into it of a coin of a denomination not exceeding that sum if in effect the amount payable to play the game once does not exceed that sum.

23 Amount of duty

(1) The duty on a whole-year gaming machine licence shall be in accordance with the following Tables and—

(a) Table A shall apply where the Commissioners are satisfied that the premises in question will, on the date on which the licence is first in force, have local authority approval under the Gaming Acts; and

(b) Table B shall apply in any other case.

TABLE A

Premises with local authority approval

Description of machines authorised by the licence	Number of machines of that description so authorised	Duty on whole-year licence
Chargeable at the lower rate.	One or more machines	£25 per machine.
Chargeable at the higher rate.	One machine	£60.
	Two or more machines	£60 plus £120 per machine in excess of one.

TABLE B

Premises without local authority approval

Description of machines authorised by the licence	Duty on whole-year licence
Chargeable at the lower rate.	£75 per machine.
Chargeable at the higher rate.	£200 per machine.
Chargeable at the peak rate.	£400 per machine.

(2) The duty on a half-year licence shall be eleven-twentieths of that which it would have been if the licence were a whole-year, but otherwise identical, licence.

24 Restrictions on provision of gaming machines

(1) Except in the cases specified in Part I of Schedule 4 to this Act, no gaming machine (other than a penny machine) shall be provided for gaming on any premises situated in Great Britain unless there is a gaming machine licence for the time being in force in respect of the premises.

(2) No more than one gaming machine licence shall be in force at any time as respects the gaming machines on any premises except that there may be one licence as respects the gaming machines chargeable at one rate, and one licence as respects the gaming machines chargeable at another rate.

(3) Gaming machines chargeable at a particular rate shall not be provided on any such premises in excess of the number authorised by the licence authorising the provision of gaming machines chargeable at that rate.

(4) Where a licence which authorises the provision of gaming machines chargeable at one rate only is in force in respect of any such premises, gaming machines chargeable at any other rate shall not be provided for gaming on those premises unless another licence authorising the provision of gaming machines chargeable at that other rate is also in force in respect of the premises.

(5) If any gaming machine is provided for gaming on any premises in contravention of this section, any person who at the time when it is so provided—

(a) is the owner, lessee or occupier of the premises, or

(b) is for the time being responsible to the owner, lessee or occupier for the management of the premises, or

(c) is a person responsible for issuing or exchanging coins or tokens for use in playing any gaming machine on the premises, or otherwise for controlling the use of any such machine, or

(d) is for the time being responsible for controlling the admission of persons to the premises or for providing persons resorting thereto with any goods or services, or

(e) is the owner or hirer of the machine, or

(f) is a party to any contract under which a gaming machine may, or is required to, be on the premises at that time,

shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a penalty of £500.

(6) If any gaming machine is provided for gaming on any premises in contravention of this section and any such person as is mentioned in subsection (5) above knowingly or recklessly brought about the contravention or took any steps with a view to procuring it he shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a penalty of the prescribed sum or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both ; or

(b) on conviction on indictment to a penalty of any amount or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.

25 Meaning of " gaming machine "

(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, a machine is a gaming machine for the purposes of this Act if it is of the following description—

(a) it is constructed or adapted for playing a game of chance by means of it;

(b) a player pays to play the machine (except where he has an opportunity to play without payment as the result of having previously played successfully), either by inserting a coin or token into the machine or in some other way; and

(c) the outcome of the game is determined by the chances inherent in the action of the machine, whether or not provision is made for manipulation of the machine by a player.

(2) In subsection (1) above, " game of chance" includes a game of chance and skill combined and a pretended game of chance or of chance and skill combined; and the fact that a game contains an element of skill shall not prevent it being treated as a game of chance if nothing but superlative skill can overcome the element of chance.

(3) A machine shall not be treated as a gaming machine for the purposes of this Act if either—

(a) it is constructed or adapted so that a person playing it once and successfully receives nothing except an opportunity, afforded by the automatic action of the machine, to play again (once or more often) without paying, or

(b) it is constructed or adapted so that, where a person plays it once and successfully, that which he receives is determined by the automatic action of the machine and is either—

(i) a money prize not greater than the amount payable to play the machine once, or

(ii) a token which is, or two or more tokens which in the aggregate are, exchangeable only for such a money prize.

(4) For the purposes of determining whether a machine is a gaming machine, it is immaterial whether it is capable of being played by only one person at a time, or is capable of being played by more than one person; but for the purposes of sections 21 to 24 above a machine which two or more persons can play simultaneously (whether or not participating with one another in the same game) shall, instead of being treated as one machine, be treated—

(a) in the case of a machine which no player can play except by (the insertion into the machine of a coin or coins of a denomination, or aggregate denomination not exceeding 2p, as a number of machines, all chargeable at the lower rate, equal to the number of persons who can play the machine simultaneously ; and

(b) in the case of a machine which is on premises which have local authority approval under the Gaming Acts and is not within paragraph (a) above or which is not on such premises and which no player can play except by the insertion into the machine of a coin or coins of a denomination, or aggregate denomination, exceeding 2p but not exceeding 5p as a number of machines, all chargeable at the higher rate, equal to that number of persons; and

(c) in a case not falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above, as a number of machines, all chargeable at the peak rate, equal to that number of persons ;

and the number of persons who can play a particular machine simultaneously shall be determined by reference to the number of individual playing positions provided on the machine.

26 Supplementary provisions as to gaming machine licence duty

(1) The provisions of Part II of Schedule 4 to this Act (supplementary provisions as to gaming machine licence duty) shall have effect.

(2) In sections 21 to 25 above and in Schedule 4 to this Act—

• " coin " means coin lawfully current in the United Kingdom;

• " Great Britain " includes the territorial waters of the United Kingdom adjacent to Great Britain ;

• " penny machine " means a gaming machine which, in order to be played once, requires the insertion of—

  (a)

  a single new penny, or

  (b)

  a single new halfpenny, and which cannot be played in any other way; and

• " premises " includes any place whatsoever and any means of transport.

(3) A machine is provided for gaming on any premises if it is made available on those premises in such a way that persons resorting to them can play it; and where on any premises one or more gaming machines are so made available, any such machine anywhere on the premises shall be treated as provided for gaming on those premises, notwithstanding that it is not so made available or is not in a state in which it can be played.