Gambling in the United Kingdom is the sphere that’s got quite a part of a community engaged in this nation-scale activity. With the increasing number of online casinos featuring free play slots no download the government of UK has started to pay a raised attention to the matter of their licensing. Thus, after the adoption of the Gambling Act 2005 the British Gambling Commission was formed to replace the Gaming Board of Great Britain and regulate the casinos’ and bookmakers’ operation. In 2013 this establishment merged with the National Lottery Commission to become the main gambling regulatory authority in the UK.
The statutes regulating both games of chance and games of skills
In what refers to the gambling products, e.g. casinos, slot machines, bingo, lotteries and bookmaking, the GA 2005 is the only applicable statute so far. However, there’s still one exception – the National Lottery Act 1993. Despite the fact the regulators have merged, the legislations regarding these two types of gambling activity differ to some extent. And there’s also a tax legislation, which is applied to gambling services on the basis of the Betting, Gaming and Duties Act 1981, undergoing systematic amendments.
The GA 2005 statute is also assigned to determine whether a game involves more skill or is predominantly influenced by chance. The test results are used to figure out which article/paragraph of gambling legislation this or that game is subjected to. As to social games and free lotteries, they aren’t influenced by the act.
The law restrictions placed upon licensee
In Great Britain, there are no restrictions regarding who can apply for a gambling licensing. Yet, those who’ve managed to obtain a license for casino/bookmaker operation are, expectedly, forced to comply with the current regulations. And there are strict restrictions a licensee must observe:
- The bingo and land-based casino license holders can’t provide credit
- If a person under age of 18 places a wager, that wager must be returned
- Bookmakers and pool betting operators are prohibited from offering bets on the National Lottery
- There are limits on the number and type of the available slot machines depending on a casino size
- The number of Regional casinos is limited to one in number, while large and small – to eight each
- Betting advertisements are allowed to be broadcast only when the sports event is taking place
- None except for GA 2005 granted casinos are allowed to offer bingo
These are some of the primary regulations the casinos and bookmaker facilities must observe in order to operate on the UK territory on a permanent basis. There are surely lots of others, as the book of law is known to be thick. However, adding them to the article would be unacceptable for a number of reasons and thus, we’ve picked the most relevant ones to unveil the principles of UK gambling legislation.
