Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981

PART I Exemption from Duty

Domestic bingo

1 Bingo duty shall not be charged in respect of bingo played both in a private dwelling and on a domestic occasion.

Club bingo

2 Bingo duty shall not be charged in respect of bingo played as an activity of a club in compliance with the following conditions: —

(a) the subscription for membership of the club does not exceed £3 a year ; and

(b) not more than one payment by way of a charge for admission to any premises being or including the place at which bingo is played is payable by a person in order to enable him to play bingo, and that payment does not exceed 15p ; and

(c) no other payment is required to be or has been made, and no obligation to make any other payment is required to be incurred, in order to enable a person to play bingo.

Charitable and other similar entertainments

3 (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 ;

(c) the whole of the proceeds of such payments as are mentioned in paragraph (a) above, after deducting sums lawfully appropriated on account of expenses or for the provision of prizes at bingo, is applied for purposes other than private gain;

(d) the sum appropriated out of the said proceeds in respect of expenses does not exceed the reasonable cost of the facilities provided for playing bingo.

(2) For the purposes of this paragraph, two or more entertainments promoted on the same premises by the same person on the same day shall be treated as one single entertainment; but where a series of entertainments is held otherwise than as aforesaid—

(a) paragraphs (a) to (d) of sub-paragraph (1) above shall have effect separately in relation to each entertainment in the series, whether some or all of the persons taking part in any one of those entertainments are thereby qualified to take part in any other of them or not, and

(b) if each of the persons taking part in the bingo played at the final entertainment of the series is qualified to do so by reason of having taken part in the bingo played at another entertainment of the series held on a previous day, paragraph (b) of that sub-paragraph shall have effect in relation to that final entertainment as if for the words " £150 " there were substituted the words " £300 ".

(3) Sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) of paragraph 3 above shall apply for the construction of sub-paragraph (1) above as they apply for the construction of sub-paragraph (1) of that paragraph.

Small-scale amusements provided commercially

5 (1) Bingo duty shall not be charged in respect of bingo played in compliance with the conditions of this paragraph—

(a) on any premises in respect of which a permit under section 16 of the [1976 c. 3.] Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 (provision of amusements with prizes) has been granted in accordance with Schedule 3 to that Act and is for the time being in force;

(b) on any premises in respect of which there is for the time being in force both a gaming machine licence under this Act and a permit granted under section 34 of the [1968 c. 65.] Gaming Act 1968, not being premises in respect of which a club or a miners' welfare institute within the meaning of the Gaming Act 1968 is for the time being registered under Part III of that Act; or

(c) at any pleasure fair consisting wholly or mainly of amusements provided by travelling showmen, which is held on any day of a year on premises not previously used in that year for more than twenty-seven days for the holding of such a pleasure fair.

(2) The conditions of this paragraph are that—

(a) the amount payable by any person for a card for any one game of bingo does not exceed 20p ;

(b) the total amount taken as payment by players for their cards for any one game does not exceed £10 ;

(c) no money prize exceeding 20p is distributed or offered ;

(d) the winning of, or the purchase of a chance to win, a prize does not entitle any person (whether subject to a further payment by him or not) to any further opportunity to win money or money's worth by taking part in any gaming or in any lottery ; and

(e) in the case of such a pleasure fair as is described above, the opportunity to play bingo is not the only, or the only substantial, inducement to persons to attend the fair.

Machine bingo

6 Bingo duty shall not be charged in respect of bingo played by means of a gaming machine the provision of which on premises requires the authority of an excise licence under section 21 of this Act.

Power to increase limits of exemptions

7 The Commissioners may by order provide that any provision of this Part of this Schedule which is specified in the order and which mentions a sum shall have effect (whether as from a date so specified or in relation to events taking place on or after a date so specified) as if for that sum there were substituted such larger sum as may be specified in the order.