General
Betting is at present regulated by various statutes in particular the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963. This deals with, amongst other things, the granting of betting office licences and betting agency permits. The 1963 Act also makes provision in relation to betting at horse racecourses and dog racecourses. It provides for the constitution of the Horserace Totalisator Board (the “Tote”) and prohibits pool betting from being carried out on a horse track other than by or with the authority of the Tote. It also makes provision for pool betting on licensed dog tracks and for a Levy Board which assesses and collects money from bookmakers and the Tote for the purposes of improving breeds of horses, advancing or encouraging veterinary science or education, and improving horse racing.
Gaming is regulated by the Gaming Act 1986. It is defined as the playing of a game of chance for winnings in money or moneys worth, whether any person playing the game is at risk of losing any money or money’s worth or not. It establishes the Gaming Board for Great Britain and imposes on it the duty of keeping under review the extent and character of gaming in Great Britain.
A lottery is an arrangement in which prizes are distributed by chance to persons who have paid to participate.
Lotteries are regulated by the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 and the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The National Lottery is run by a body licensed by the Director General of the National Lottery. Under the 1993 Act the Secretary of State can give the Director General directions as to the exercise of his functions. The 1993 Act also makes provision for the net proceeds of the National Lottery to be paid into a distribution fund maintained by the Secretary of State and for these to be distributed equally to the good causes of the arts, sport, charity, the national heritage and projects to mark the year 2000 and the beginning of the third millennium. Funds in Scotland are distributed for the arts and sport by the Scottish Arts Council and the Scottish Sports Council respectively, through a fixed formula allocating 8.9 per cent of the relevant UK expenditure to Scotland. Funds for the other three good causes are distributed on a UK basis by the National Lottery Charities Board (operating in Scotland through a statutory Scottish Committee), Trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Millennium Commission respectively. The National Lottery Act 1998 proposes the establishment with Lottery funding of a New Opportunities Fund for projects connected with health, education or the environment, and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, which is not a distributing body but which will receive an endowment from lottery derived funds.
