S.I. No. 65/1926 - Betting Duty Regulations, 1926.


STATUTORY RULES AND ORDERS. 1926. No. 65.

BETTING DUTY REGULATIONS, 1926.

MADE UNDER SECTION 25 of THE FINANCE ACT, 1926 .

The Revenue Commissioners, in pursuance of Section 25 of the Finance Act, 1926 , hereby make the following regulations:—

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as "the Betting Duty Regulations, 1926."

(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions shall have the meanings hereinafter respectively attached to them, that is to say:—

"Commissioners" means the Revenue Commissioners;

"Officer" means Officer of Customs and Excise;

"Official Betting Sheet" means an official tax-paid betting sheet supplied by the Commissioners;

"Duty" means the duty on bets;

"Proprietor" means the person entitled to the exclusive occupation of the premises in relation to which the word is used, and, where the context so admits, includes a number of persons jointly so entitled.

(3) The Interpretation Act, 1923 (No. 46 of 1923) applies to the interpretation of these Regulations in like manner as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of the Oireachtas.

2. A bet, other than a bet that is made by letter, telegram or telephone, shall not be accepted in a registered office unless it is made by means of a written slip or betting voucher bearing the date and full particulars of the bet.

3. Every slip, betting voucher, letter or telegram on, or by means of which a bet is made must immediately on acceptance be marked indelibly by the bookmaker with the time of receipt and a number in a consecutive series and a dated ticket bearing the same number must be issued in respect of each slip or betting voucher to the person handing in the slip or voucher.

4. All bets, other than telephone bets, must be numbered in a single series unless the previous consent of the Commissioners has been obtained to the use, concurrently, of more than one series. Applications for such consent must specify the number of series it is proposed to use and the manner in which the numbers in the different series will be distinguished.

5. All bets made by telephone message to a bookmaker at his registered office must be forthwith entered separately, in duplicate, under the proper date, in a book kept specially for the purpose, and every such entry must show the full particulars of the bet, the actual time of receipt, and an identifying number in a consecutive series.

6. Each day's betting slips or vouchers, telegrams and letters must be kept separate from those relating to any other day and must be retained intact for a period of six months, or, in special circumstances, such other period as the Commissioners may require. The book used for recording bets made by telephone must be kept for a period of six months from the last date of use, and must be dated on the outside cover with the date on which it was first brought into use, and also in due course with the date of completion.

7. No alteration shall be made by a bookmaker in any betting slip or voucher, and the bookmaker shall at all reasonable times on demand by any Officer, produce to that Officer all slips, vouchers, letters, telegrams, books and other documents in his possession which relate to bets made with him, and shall allow the Officer to inspect and take an account of the same or to remove the same for the purpose of examination or inquiry.

8. Unless he has previously obtained authority under No. 19 of these Regulations to pay the duty on bets on the basis of certified returns, a bookmaker, operating in a registered bookmaking office must, on the day on which a bet is accepted, enter on the form of Official Betting Sheet prescribed for use in registered bookmaking offices the particulars required by the titling of the sheet.

9. Unless he has previously obtained authority under No. 19 of these Regulations to pay the duty on bets on the basis of certified returns, a bookmaker, operating at any place other than at his registered office, must, as soon as a bet is accepted, enter it on the appropriate form of Official Betting Sheet.

10. When entering a bet as required by No. 9 of these Regulations, the bookmaker must use the form of Official Betting Sheet applicable to the rate of duty to which the bet is liable and must record on such sheet the particulars required by the titling of the sheet.

11. The amounts of bets entered on Official Betting Sheets must be recorded in units of a shilling or of a pound, but not of both.

12. It shall be the duty of the bookmaker to indicate indelibly in each betting sheet on which he is about to enter particulars of bets made with him, his name and address, the unit in which the bets are to be recorded, and the date on which the Official Betting Sheet is being brought into use.

13. Where the bookmaker, who uses Official Betting Sheets and who lays off with another bookmaker part or all of the bets accepted by him, proposes to apply to the Commissioners for refund of duty in respect of the bets so laid off, he shall record the amount laid off, the name of the horse, dog, etc., and the name of the bookmaker to whom the bet is laid off in the columns set apart in the Official Betting Sheet for the entry of such transactions.

14. A bet made in a Registered Bookmaking Office must not be laid off to another bookmaker under No. 13 of these Regulations at any place other than in a Registered Bookmaking Office.

15. A bookmaker who accepts a bet from another bookmaker shall, unless otherwise authorised by the commissioners under No. 19 of these Regulations, enter the particulars of such bet in the columns set apart for the purpose in the Official betting Sheet.

16. A bookmaker who has accepted a bet from another bookmaker shall, on demand of that other bookmaker, issue to him within 7 days of the date of such demand a certificate in such form as the Commissioners may prescribe, that he has accepted such bet.

17. Every application for refund or remission of duty shall be made in such form as the Commissioners may prescribe, and the applicant shall truly furnish to the Commissioners all particulars required by them in relation to such application, and as regards laid off bets shall produce such evidence as will satisfy the Commissioners that the applicant has accepted bets on the particular contingency to at least the amount covered by the application.

18. If any bookmaker desires to make arrangements approved by the Commissioners to dispense with the use of Official Betting Sheets and to pay the duty on bets on the basis of certified returns, he shall make application in writing to the Commissioners in such form as they may prescribe.

19. On such security as the commissioners may require to safeguard the duty being given, they shall, if they think fit to approve the arrangement, signify their approval in writing and shall specify the date from which the arrangement will take effect.

20. If the approval of the Commissioners is granted subject to the compliance by the bookmaker with any conditions, it shall be his duty to comply with such conditions.

21. The Commissioners may at any time cancel any arrangement sanctioned in respect of a bookmaker under No. 19 of these Regulations but at no time shall a bookmaker be entitled to cancel such arrangement without the approval of the Commissioners given in writing.

22. If a bookmaker, who has an arrangement with the Commissioners to pay duty on the basis of certified returns, desires to cease business for a time, he must give at least 7 days' notice to the Commissioners of his intention to do so, and must also give notice of the date when he proposes to resume the business of a bookmaker.

23. The bookmaker shall at all reasonable times on demand by any Officer produce to that Officer all Official Betting Sheets in his possession, whether unused, used or partly used, and shall allow the Officer to inspect such Official Betting Sheets, or retain them, or take therefrom such extracts or particulars as he may think fit.

24. All used Official Betting Sheets in respect of which no claim for repayment is made are to be forwarded by the bookmaker, within 14 days of use, to the Accountant-General of Revenue.

25. Bets made on different dates must not, in any circumstances, be entered on the same betting sheet.

26. The total stake value of the bets recorded on an Official Betting Sheet, including bets accepted from another bookmaker under No. 15 of these Regulations, must not exceed the value specified on the sheet by the Commissioners.

27. No bookmaker or his servant, or his agent, shall alter or erase or attempt to alter or erase any entry which has been made on an Official Betting Sheet.

28. No person shall purchase an Official Betting Sheet except from a Collector of Customs and Excise or such other person as may be authorised by the Commissioners.

By Order of the Revenue Commissioners,

M. V. NOLAN.

Dublin Castle,

20th October, 1926.