Finance Act 2003

6 General betting duty and pool betting duty: relief for losses

(1) Part 1 of the Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981 (c. 63) (betting duties) is amended as follows.

(2) In section 5 (net stake receipts) at the end of subsection (3) (negative net stake receipts to be disregarded) insert “except as provided for by section 5AA”.

(3) After that section insert—

“5AA Relief for losses

(1) This section applies where the amount of a person’s net stake receipts for an accounting period in respect of a class of bets (calculated in accordance with section 5(1)) is a negative amount.

(2) That amount shall be carried forward to the following accounting period and, to the extent that it does not exceed it, deducted from the amount of the person’s net stake receipts in respect of the same class of bets for that period.

(3) If the amount of those net stake receipts for that following accounting period—

(a) is not a positive amount, or

(b) is less than the amount carried forward,

the amount carried forward or, as the case may be, the balance of it shall be treated for the purposes of this section as if it were a negative amount of net stake receipts for that period in respect of the same class of bets.”.

(4) Omit section 5A (multiple bets) (which becomes unnecessary as a result of the amendment made by subsection (3) above).

(5) After section 7 (duty charged on net pool betting receipts) insert—

“7ZA Relief for losses

(1) This section applies where the amount of a person’s net pool betting receipts for an accounting period is a negative amount.

(2) That amount shall be carried forward to the following accounting period and, to the extent that it does not exceed it, deducted from the amount of the person’s net pool betting receipts for that period.

(3) If the amount of the net pool betting receipts for that following accounting period—

(a) is not a positive amount, or

(b) is less than the amount carried forward,

the amount carried forward or, as the case may be, the balance of it shall be treated for the purposes of this section as if it were a negative amount of net pool betting receipts for that period.”.

(6) The amendments made by this section apply in relation to any accounting period beginning on or after 1st September 2003 for which the net stake receipts in respect of a particular class of bets, or (as the case may be) the net pool betting receipts, is a negative amount.