Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963

Information to be given by promoters E+W+S

20 (1) As soon as may be after the events to which any of his competitions relates have taken place, and in any case not later than seven days after the announcement of the results of that competition, every registered pool promoter shall send to the accountant a statement showing—

(a) the total amount of the stakes in respect of entries in the competition;

(b) the total amount payable by way of winnings in that competition;

(c) the total amount of the stakes in respect of winning bets in the competition and, if there are more prizes than one in the competition, the total amount of the stakes in respect of winning bets qualifying for, or for shares in, each of the prizes; and

(d) the amount payable in respect of each winning bet or, as the case may be, of each winning bet qualifying for, or for a share of, each of the prizes, bets staking more than the minimum which is permissible under the rules of the competition being treated for the purposes of this paragraph as if they were several separate bets each staking the said minimum.

(2) Where a payment is made in accordance with paragraph 15 of this Schedule after the sending of the statement to the accountant under the foregoing sub-paragraph, the registered pool promoter shall as soon as may be send particulars of that payment to the accountant.

21 (1) Every registered pool promoter shall, not more than twenty-one days after the events to which any of his competitions relate have taken place, send to every competitor in that competition a statement of the percentage (calculated to the nearest one-tenth of one per cent.) which the first of the amounts hereinafter mentioned bears to the second of those amounts, that is to say—

(a) the aggregate total stakes in that competition and all other competitions of that promoter which depend on those events or on other events taking place on the same day, after deducting the aggregate prizes in, and the aggregate pool betting duty payable in respect of, all those competitions;

(b) the said aggregate total stakes, without any such deduction.

unless he has secured all such publicity as is reasonably necessary for the said statement by means of a newspaper announcement or newspaper announcements published within the said twenty-one days.

(2) The statement aforesaid may take the following form, that is to say—

“Commission and expenses per cent.”

with the addition (if in the context this is necessary) of words identifying the competition or competitions to which the statement relates.

22 E+W+S The statements and announcements referred to in paragraphs 20 and 21 of this Schedule may be expressed to be subject to some form of check or scrutiny, but where a statement expressed to be subject to a check or scrutiny is sent to the accountant under sub-paragraph (1) of the said paragraph 20, the registered pool promoter shall as soon as may be send to the accountant a further statement, stating that, as the result of the check or scrutiny, specified corrections or no corrections are necessary in the earlier statement or that the check or scrutiny has not been made and is not intended to be made.

23 (1) In August in each year every registered pool promoter shall send to the accountant and to the registering authority a statement showing, as respects his competitions depending on events which took place on any day during the period of twelve months ending with 31st July in that year—

(a) the aggregate total stakes in all those competitions;

(b) the said aggregate total stakes after deducting the aggregate prizes in, and the aggregate pool betting duty payable in respect of, those competitions; and

(c) the amount of the promoter’s commission or, at the option of the promoter, the percentage (calculated to the nearest one-tenth of one per cent.) which the said commission bears to the said aggregate total stakes:

Provided that, if the percentage referred to in paragraph (c) of this sub-paragraph does not exceed three per cent., the statement required by that paragraph may, if the promoter so desires, be a statement that the said percentage does not exceed three per cent.

(2) In the foregoing sub-paragraph, the expression “the promoter’s commission” means the amount by which the aggregate total stakes in all the competitions referred to in that sub-paragraph exceeds the sum of—

(a) the aggregate prizes in those competitions; and

(b) the aggregate pool betting duty payable in respect of the competitions; and

(c) the expenses of the promoter actually incurred by him in the conduct of those competitions, excluding any expenses properly chargeable to capital and any interest on borrowed money, and, in particular, excluding any provision for depreciation of buildings or equipment, any emoluments payable to the promoter or, if the promoter is a partnership, to any of the partners, or, if the promoter is a body corporate, to any of the directors, and in any case, any emoluments payable to any person whose emoluments depend to any extent on the profits of the promoter.

(3) The registering authority shall preserve any statement sent to them under this paragraph for at least two years and shall deposit it at their office and permit any member of the public to inspect it during office hours free of charge.

24 (1) Where a registered pool promoter is a company to which [F1 [F2 section 241 of the Companies Act 1985] applies; then, whenever a copy of] a profit and loss account of the company is laid before the company in general meeting in pursuance of that section, the company shall forthwith send a copy of that account and of the relevant auditor’s report to the accountant. E+W+S

(2) Every registered pool promoter to whom the foregoing subparagraph does not apply shall at least once in every calendar year send to the accountant a profit and loss account of his pool betting business, covering, in the case of the first account, a period beginning at the commencement of the business, and, in the case of subsequent accounts, a period beginning at the end of the period covered by the last account, together with a report thereon by an auditor, being a qualified accountant who neither is, nor is a partner of, nor is in the employment of any person who is, an officer or servant of the registered pool promoter; [F3 and sections 235(2) and 237(1) and (3) of the Companies Act 1985 (matters to be stated in auditors’ report and responsibility of auditors in preparing their report)] shall, with the necessary adaptations, apply in relation to every such report.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by Companies Act 1976 (c. 69), s. 45(3), Sch. 2

F2 Words substituted by Companies Consolidation (Consequential Provisions) Act 1985 (c. 9, SIF 27), s. 30, Sch. 2

F3 Words substituted by virtue of Companies Act 1989 (c. 40, SIF 27), s. 23, Sch. 10 Pt. II para. 25