The Gaming Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict., c. 109) was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. The Act's principal provision was to deem a

wager Wager can refer to: Gambling * Wager, the amount of a valuable staked when gambling on an event with an uncertain outcome, with the primary intent of winning money or material goods * Legal wager, required by both parties at the preliminary heari ...

unenforceable as a legal

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

. The Act received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

on 8 August 1845. Sections 17 and 18, though amended, remained in force until 1 September 2007.

Background

Increasing concern as to the damaging social effects of

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

gave rise to a select committee of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

whose recommendations were implemented by the Act. The

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...

of the Act was to discourage betting. However, following a 2001 report by Sir

Alan Budd Sir Alan Peter Budd (born 16 November 1937) is a prominent British economist, who was a founding member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in 1997. He left the MPC in May 1999, and between August 1999 and 2008 was Provo ...

, in 2002, the UK government accepted that wagers should cease to be unenforceable as contracts, seeking to introduce a new liberalised regulatory regime in order to encourage the gambling industry.

Repeals

Sections 1 to 9 and 15 and 16 and 19 to 24 and 26, and the First and Second Schedules, were repealed by Part I of Schedule 6 to the

Betting and Gaming Act 1960 The Betting and Gaming Act 1960 was a British Act of Parliament that legalised additional forms of gambling in the United Kingdom. It was passed on 1 September 1960 and came into effect on 1 January 1961. The Act Based on the recommendations of ...

. Sections 10 to 14 and the Third Schedule were repealed by section 1 of, and the Schedule to, the Billiards (Abolition of Restrictions) Act 1987 Section 25 was repealed by Part XIX of Schedule 1 to the

Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1976 The Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1976 (c 16) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This Act was partly in force in Great Britain at the end of 2010. It implemented recommendations contained in the seventh report on statute law revisi ...

This Act was repealed for Northern Ireland b
article 187(4)
of, and Schedule 21 to, the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 (S.I. 1985/1204 (N.I. 11)). The whole Act was repealed in the Republic of Ireland by the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956.

Exclusion

This Act was excluded b
section 16(4)
of the

Gaming Act 1968 Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playin ...

Section 1 – Repeal of part of the Unlawful Games Act 1541

Section 1 repealed the

Unlawful Games Act 1541 The Unlawful Games Act 1541 (33 Hen 8 c 9), sometimes referred to as the Suppression of Unlawful Games Act 1541, was an Act of the Parliament of England, designed to prohibit "Several new devised Games" that caused "the Decay of Archery". All ...

(33 Hen 8 c 9), as to so much * whereby any game of mere skill, such as

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

, coyting, cloyshcayls, half bowl,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

or the like, was declared an unlawful game, * which enacted any penalty for playing at any such game of skill as aforesaid, *which enacts any penalty for lacking bows or arrows, or for not making and continuing butts, * which regulates the making, selling, or using of bows and arrows, * requires the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

s, and other head officers within every city, borough, and town within the Realm, to make search weekly, or at the farthest once a month, in all places where houses, alleys, plays, or places of dicing, carding, or gaming shall be suspected to be had, kept, and maintained, * as makes it lawful for every master to license his or their servants, and for every

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

and other having manors, lands, tenements, or other yearly profits for term of life, in his own right or in his wife's right, to the yearly value of an hundred pounds or above, to command, appoint, or license, by his or their discretion, his or their servants or family of his or their house or houses to play at cards,

dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...

, or tables, or any unlawful game. It provides such commandment, appointment, or licence shall not avail any person to exempt him from the danger or penalty of playing at any unlawful game or in any common gaming house.

Section 15 – Repeal of other laws

Section 15 repeals the following: * Gaming Act 1664 16 Cha. 7 *

Gaming Act 1710 The Gaming Act 1710 (9 Ann c 19) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The Gaming Act 1710 was largely superseded by the Gaming Act 1968. The whole Act was repealed bsections 356(3)(a) and (4)of, anSchedule 17to, the Gambling Act 20 ...

9 Ann, c. 19 as was not amended by Gaming Act 1835 5 & 6 Wil. 4 c. 41 * Gaming Act 1744 18 Geo, 2 c.34 :* as relates to Gaming Act 1710 9 Ann c. 19 and :* as renders any person liable to be indicted and punished for winning or losing, at play or by betting, at any one time, the sum or value of ten pounds, or within the space of twenty-four hours the sum or value of twenty pounds.

Section 17 – Cheating at play

This section created an offence. At the time of its repeal this section read: The words of enactment at the start were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1891. The words in square brackets were substituted for the words "be deemed guilty of obtaining such money or valuable thing from such other person by a false pretence, with intent to cheat or defraud such person of the same, and, being convicted thereof, shall be punished accordingly" by sections 33(2) and 36(3) of, and Part III of Schedule 2 to, the

Theft Act 1968 The Theft Act 1968c 60 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of offences against property in England and Wales. On 15 January 2007 the Fraud Act 2006 came into force, redefining most of the offences of deceptio ...

. Two hundred pounds Section 32(2) of the

Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 The Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a consolidation Act.The Public General Acts and General Synod Measures 1980. HMSO. London. . Part IV. Pages ''i'', ''j'' and i. It codifies the p ...

provided that the reference to two hundred pounds was to be construed as a reference to the

prescribed sum The prescribed sum is the maximum fine that may be imposed on summary conviction of certain offences in the United Kingdom. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, it is now equivalent to level 5 on the standard scale, which it predates. In Scot ...

. The following cases are relevant: *''R v Darley'' (1826) 1 Stark NP 359, (1826) 171 ERbr>497
*''Cooke v Stratford'' (1844) 13 M & W 379, (1844) 2 Dow & L 399, (1844) 4 LT (OS) 138a *''R v Hudson'' (1860) Bell CC 263 *''R v O'Connor and Brown'' (1881) 45 LT 512, (1881) 46 JP 214, (1881) 15

Cox Cox may refer to: * Cox (surname), including people with the name Companies * Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company ** Cox Communications, cable provider ** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations ** ...

3 *''R v Moore'', 10 Cr App R 54, CCA *''R v Lawler'', 14 JP 561 *''R v Governor of Brixton Prison, ex parte Sjoland and Metzler'' 9123 KB 568, 29 TLR 10, 77 JP 23 *''R v Leon''

945 Year 945 ( CMXLV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 27 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown barel ...

KB 136, 30 Cr App R 120, 61 TLR 100, CCA *''R v Butler'', 38 Cr App R 57, CCA *''R v Clucas and O'Rourke''

959 Year 959 ( CMLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * April - May – The Byzantines refuse to pay the yearly tribute. A Hungari ...

1 WLR 244,

All ER The All England Law Reports (abbreviated in citations to All ER) are a long-running series of law reports covering cases from the court system in England and Wales. Established in 1936, the All England Law Reports are a commercially produced alt ...

438, 43 Cr App R 98, 123 JP 203, CCA *''R v Harris and Turner''

963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...

2 QB 442,

2 WLR 851,

2 All ER 294, 47 Cr App R 125, CCA In 2005, Kwong Lee, Martin Fitz and Shuhal Miah were found guilty of cheating at

roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

under this section.

Section 18 – Gambling contracts deemed void

This section concerned whether unpaid winnings accrued from gambling could be sued for in a court of law. The Act made it clear that they could not because winnings from gambling were to be treated as a "debt of honour" and as such could not be treated as a financial debt. The Act read: This section was extended by the

Gaming Act 1892 Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playing ...

. However, a bet on the Horserace Totalisator Board, also known as

The Tote The Tote is a British gambling company which is the largest pool betting operator in the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Wigan, England, its main products are sports betting and online casino. Founded in 1928, the company was owned by the U ...

, did not fall within the scope of the Act. Further, by the 1980s, it was feared that complex commercial risk management instruments and contracts, such as

derivative In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. F ...

s could fall foul of the Act. Provision was made that a contract would not be void if at least one of the parties entered into it for legitimate business purposes. The exemption is now found in the

Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000c 8 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a regulator for insurance, investment business and banking, and the Financial Ombudsman Serv ...

s 412.412.— Gaming contracts. (1) No contract to which this section applies is void or unenforceable because of– (a) Article 170 of the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985; or (2) This section applies to a contract if– (a) it is entered into by either or each party by way of business; (b) the entering into or performance of it by either party constitutes an activity of a specified kind or one which falls within a specified class of activity; and (c) it relates to an investment of a specified kind or one which falls within a specified class of investment. (3) Part II of Schedule 2 applies for the purposes of subsection (2)(c), with the references to section 22 being read as references to that subsection. (4) Nothing in Part II of Schedule 2, as applied by subsection (3), limits the power conferred by subsection (2)(c). (5) "Investment" includes any asset, right or interest. (6) "Specified" means specified in an order made by the Treasury. The

Gambling Act 2005 The Gambling Act 2005 (2005 c 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It mainly applies to England and Wales, and to Scotland, and is designed to control all forms of gambling. It transfers authority for licensing gambling from t ...

removed the "debt of honour" clause that made gambling winnings exempt from legal action if they were not paid. This meant that unpaid winnings could now be pursued in a court of law.

Section 19 – Feigned issues abolished

Court of law or equity that desired to have any

question of fact In law, a question of law, also known as a point of law, is a question that must be answered by applying relevant legal principles to interpretation of the law. Such a question is distinct from a question of fact, which must be answered by referenc ...

decided by a

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

had it presented in the form of feigned issues, by stating that a wager was laid between two parties interested in respectively maintaining the affirmative and the negative of certain propositions. It was enacted that in every case where any court of law or equity desires to have any question of fact decided by a jury it should the directly state the question of fact in dispute, with such persons being plaintiffs and defendants as the court may direct, rather than as a feigned issue of a wager.

Ireland and Northern Ireland

The Act was in force in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

until

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

. It consequently became the law of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

on 6 December 1922, and then of its successor states until its repeal in 1956. When the autonomous region of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

seceded from the Irish Free State and rejoined the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on 7 December 1922, the Act became the law of Northern Ireland until repeal.

Cases

*'' Close v Wilson'' 011EWCA Civ 5, a promise to money paid under an agreement to bet cannot be enforced because of the Gaming Act 1892 s 1, but the payer has a claim in restitution for the winnings and for any money used for purposes other than betting.

Notes

References

* (

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

) *Budd, A (2001)
Gambling Review Report
',

Department for Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

*Gambling Review (2002)
A Safe Bet for Success
' Cm.5397 *House of Commons (1844) ''Report from the Select Committee on Gaming'' HC1844/297 * * {{English law types United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1845 Legal history of England United Kingdom contract law Criminal law of the United Kingdom Gambling legislation in the United Kingdom