Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981

9 Prohibitions for protection of revenue. U.K.

(1) Any person who—

(a) conducts in [F1 the United Kingdom] any business or agency for the negotiation, receipt or transmission of bets to which this section applies, or

(b) knowingly issues, circulates or distributes in [F1 the United Kingdom], or has in his possession for that purpose, any advertisement or other document inviting or otherwise relating to the making of such bets, or

(c) being a bookmaker in [F1 the United Kingdom], makes or offers to make any such bet with a bookmaker outside [F1 the United Kingdom],

shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) Except as mentioned in subsection (3) below, this section applies to—

(a) all bets made by way of pool betting or coupon betting unless—

(i) in the case of bets made by means of a totalisator, the totalisator is situated in [F1 the United Kingdom],

(ii) in the case of bets made otherwise than by means of a totalisator, the promoter of the betting is in [F1 the United Kingdom]; and

(b) all bets made with a bookmaker outside [F1 the United Kingdom] (whether or not made by way of pool betting or coupon betting).

(3) This section does not apply—

[F2 (a) to any bet which is made by way of pool betting or coupon betting if—

(i) the bet is not made by means of a totalisator,

(ii) the promoter is in the Isle of Man,

(iii) the bet is chargeable with a duty imposed by or under an Act of Tynwald which corresponds to pool betting duty, and

(iv) the duty mentioned in sub-paragraph (iii) is chargeable on the bet at a rate not less than the appropriate rate of pool betting duty; or

(aa) to any bet which is made with a bookmaker if—

(i) it is not made by way of pool betting or coupon betting,

(ii) the bookmaker is in the Isle of Man,

(iii) a duty is imposed by or under an Act of Tynwald in respect of bookmaker’s receipts from bets of that kind, and

(iv) the rates and method of calculation of that duty result in no less duty being charged in respect of bets of that kind than is charged by way of general betting duty in respect of bets of that kind; or]

(b) to any bet made by means of a totalisator situated in a country outside [F1 the United Kingdom] on a horse race taking place in that country; or

(c) to any bet in respect of an event taking place outside [F1 the United Kingdom] made by a bookmaker in [F1 the United Kingdom]—

(i) by means of a totalisator situated outside [F1 the United Kingdom], or

(ii) with a bookmaker outside [F1 the United Kingdom],

if it is shown that bets in respect of that event have been made in [F1 the United Kingdom] with the first-mentioned bookmaker by other persons.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a penalty of the prescribed sum or, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a penalty of the prescribed sum or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment to a penalty of any amount or, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a penalty of any amount or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.

(5) A person who makes or tries to make a bet, or who gets or tries to get any advertisement or other document given or sent to him, shall not be guilty of an offence by reason of his thereby procuring or inciting some other person to commit, or aiding or abetting the commission of, an offence under this section.

(6) Section 6(3) above shall have effect for the purposes for subsections (2)(a) and (5) above (except in their application to coupon betting) as it has effect for the purposes of sections 6 to 8 above.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by Finance Act 1986 (c. 41, SIF 12:2), s. 6, Sch. 4 para. 3(1)

F2 S. 9(3)(a)(aa) substituted (6.10.2001 with effect as mentioned in art. 2 of the commencing S.I.) for s. 9(3)(a) by 2001 c. 9, s. 6, Sch. para. 2; S.I. 2001/3089, art. 2