The Gambling Act 2005 (Limits on Prize Gaming) Regulations 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations revoke and replace the Gambling Act 2005 (Limits on Prize Gaming) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/1777) (“the 2007 Regulations”).

The 2007 Regulations prescribed for the purposes of section 293(2) and (4) of the Gambling Act 2005 (c. 19) (“the Act”) the limits on participation fees, and maximum prize amounts and values in respect of “prize gaming” as defined in section 288 of the Act.

Regulation 2 of these Regulations increases from 50 pence to £1 the maximum participation fee that may be charged for any one chance to win a prize in a game. As was the case under the 2007 Regulations, this maximum applies even where a single chance affords the player the opportunity to win more than one prize. For example, in a game of bingo the purchase of one game card (the chance) may provide the player with three distinct opportunities to win a prize (one line, two lines, full house). The maximum participation fee nevertheless remains £1, because the game card constitutes a single chance to win one or more of several prizes. As in the 2007 Regulations, there is a limit of £500 on the aggregate amount of the participation fees that may be charged in a particular game.

Regulation 3 of these Regulations imposes limits on the amount or value of prizes for which games may be played. Where all the prizes are money, the amount of any one prize for which the game is played must not exceed £70, and the aggregate of all the prizes must not exceed £500. In any other case (i.e. where not all the prizes are money), the value of any one prize for which the game is played and which is money must not exceed £70, and the aggregate of all the prizes must not exceed £500.

Regulation 4 revokes the 2007 Regulations.