Gaming Act 1968

Sale, supply and maintenance of machines

27 General restrictions

(1) Except as provided by subsections (2) to (4) of this section, no person shall, whether as principal or as a servant or agent, sell or supply a machine to which this Part of this Act applies unless—

(a) he is the holder of a certificate issued for the purposes of this subsection by the Board which is for the time being in force, or of a permit in respect of that machine which has been granted for the purposes of this subsection by the Board and is for the time being in force, or

(b) where he sells or supplies the machine as the servant or agent of another person, that other person is the holder of such a certificate or permit.

(2) The preceding subsection does not apply—

(a) to the sale of machines of any description to a person who carries on a business which consists of or includes selling or supplying machines of that description ;

(b) to the sale or supply of a machine to a person buying or agreeing or proposing to buy it under a credit-sale agreement, or to the supply of a machine to a person as being a person hiring or agreeing or proposing to hire it under a hire-purchase agreement, where (in any such case) the person who is or is to be the seller or owner in relation to the agreement has at no time had possession of the machine and became or becomes the owner of it only for the purpose of entering into the agreement;

(c) to the sale or supply of a machine as scrap; or

(d) to any transaction whereby the premises in which a machine to which this Part of this Act applies is installed are sold or let and the machine is sold or supplied to the purchaser or tenant as part of the fixtures and fittings of the premises.

(3) Subject to the next following subsection, subsection (1) of this section does not apply to the sale or supply of a machine for use exclusively at a travelling showmen's pleasure fair or for use exclusively on premises used or to be used—

(a) wholly or mainly for the provision of amusements by means of machines to which this Part of this Act applies, or

(b) wholly or mainly for the purposes of a pleasure fair consisting wholly or mainly of amusements, or

(c) as a pleasure pier.

(4) The Secretary of State may by order direct that subsection (3) of this section shall cease to have effect, or shall have effect subject to such exceptions as may be specified in the order.

(5) No person acting as principal shall—

(a) undertake for valuable consideration to maintain the mechanism of a machine to which this Part of this Act applies, or

(b) cause or permit another person to enter into such an undertaking on his behalf,

unless the person so acting as principal is the holder of a certificate issued for the purposes of this subsection by the Board which is for the time being in force, or of a permit in respect of that machine which has been granted for the purposes of this subsection by the Board and is for the time being in force.

(6) The provisions of Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the issue of certificates, and the grant of permits, for the purposes of subsections (1) and (5) of this section.

(7) In this section "credit-sale agreement" means an agreement for the sale of goods under which the whole or part of the purchase price is payable by instalments, and " hire-purchase agreement" has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 of the [1965 c. 66.] Hire-Purchase Act 1965, or, in the application of this section to Scotland, by section 1 of the [1965 c. 67.] Hire-Purchase (Scotland) Act 1965.

28 Restrictions as to terms and conditions

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations impose such restrictions as he may consider necessary or expedient with respect to the terms and conditions on which machines to which this Part of this Act applies may be sold or supplied or undertaken to be maintained.

(2) Without prejudice to any restrictions imposed by regulations under the preceding subsection, but subject to subsection (3) of this section, no person shall sell or supply, or shall undertake to maintain, a machine to which this Part of this Act applies on terms and conditions which are in any way dependent upon, or provide for any calculation by reference to, the extent to which, or the manner in which, that machine, or any other machine or equipment (whether a machine to which this Part of this Act applies or not), is used.

(3) Subsection (2) of this section shall not have effect in relation to the sale or supply of a machine for use exclusively at a travelling showmen's pleasure fair or for use exclusively on premises used or to be used as mentioned in paragraph (a), paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of section 27(3) of this Act, or in relation to an undertaking to maintain a machine at any such pleasure fair or on any such premises:

Provided that the Secretary of State may by order direct that this subsection shall cease to have effect, or shall have effect subject to such exceptions as may be specified in the order.

(4) In this section " terms and conditions" includes any terms and conditions as to price, rent or any other payment.

29 Application of ss. 27 and 28 to concessionaires

For the purposes of sections 27 and 28 of this Act a person (other than a travelling showman) who, in pursuance of any concession, licence or other right granted to him, places a machine, or causes a machine to be placed, on premises which are not in his occupation shall be treated as supplying the machine at the time when it is placed on those premises.