Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981

7 Amount of pool betting duty

(1) The amount of the pool betting duty shall be equal in the case of pool competitions bets to 33| per cent, and in any other case to 40 per cent, of the aggregate of—

(a) the amount of the stake money paid, and

(b) the expenses and profits described in subsection (4) below (but subject to subsection (5) below).

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above bets are pool competitions bets if they are made by way of pool betting in respect of a competition for prizes held by—

(a) the holder of a licence under the [1971 c. 57.] Pool Competitions Act 1971, or

(b) any person approved by the Secretary of State in that behalf on the recommendation of the Gaming Board for Great Britain.

(3) For the purposes of pool betting duty, any payment which entitles a person to make a bet by way of pool betting or coupon betting shall, if he makes the bet, be treated as stake money on the bet; and this subsection shall apply to any payment entitling a person to take part in a transaction which is, on his part, only not a bet made by way of pool betting or coupon betting by reason of his not in fact making any stake as if the transaction were such a bet, and the transaction shall accordingly be treated as a bet for the purposes of pool betting duty.

(4) The expenses and profits referred to in subsection (1)(b) above are the expenses and profits of the promoter of the betting or any other person concerned with or benefiting from the promotion of the betting so far as they are not provided for out of the stake money and are not shown to be referable to matters other than the promotion and management of the betting and activities ancillary thereto or connected therewith; and all payments made for or on account of or in connection with any bets made by way of pool betting or coupon betting in addition to the stake money by the persons making the bets shall be treated as representing amounts on which duty is (subject to subsection (5) below) chargeable by virtue of subsection (1)(b) above except in so far as the promoter of the betting proves the contrary.

(5) There shall be excepted from any charge to duty under this section the amount of any benefit accruing from the betting to a society established and conducted for charitable purposes only or to a society established and conducted wholly or mainly for the support of athletic sports or athletic games and not established or conducted for purposes of private gain, if the benefit is provided by means of payments made by persons making bets and those persons know, when making the payments, that their purpose is to provide the benefit.

In this subsection " society " includes any club, institution, organisation or association of persons, by whatever name called.