Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981

1 General betting duty

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, on any bet which—

(a) is made with a bookmaker in Great Britain otherwise than by way of pool betting or coupon betting, or

(b) is made by way of sponsored pool betting or is otherwise made by means of facilities provided by the Horserace Totalisator Board and is not a bet made with the Board by way of coupon betting, or

(c) is made on any event on a track to which this paragraph applies by means of a totalisator on that track and on the day on which that event takes place,

there shall be charged a duty of excise to be known as general betting duty.

(2) General betting duty shall—

(a) in the case of an on-course bet, be of an amount equal to 4 per cent, of the amount staked, and

(b) in the case of any other bet, be of an amount equal to 8 per cent, of the amount staked.

(3) Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) above applies—

(a) to any track in respect of which there is for the time being in force a track betting licence granted under Schedule 3 to the [1963 c. 2.] Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963, and

(b) to any track which the Commissioners see fit to treat for the purposes of that paragraph as if it were such a track.