Gaming Act 1845

Infobox UK Legislation
short_title=Gaming Act 1845
parliament=United Kingdom Parliament
long_title=An Act to amend the Law concerning Games and Wagers.
statute_book_chapter=8 & 9 Vict., c. 109
introduced_by=—
territorial_extent=England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland
royal_assent=8 August 1845
commencement=8 August 1845
repeal_date=1 September 2007 [Gambling Act 2005 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2006, [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20063272.htm SI 2007/3272] , art.2(4)]
amendments=Betting and Gaming Act 1960
Billiards (Abolition of Restrictions) Act 1987
Theft Act 1968
related_legislation=Gaming Act 1892
repealing_legislation=Gambling Act 2005, s.356(3)(d)/ Sch.17
status=Repealed
original_text=
activeTextDocId=
legislation_history=
|The Gaming Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict., c. 109) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's principle provision was to deem a wager unenforceable as a legal contract. The Act received Royal Assent on August 8, 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 [Miers (2002) "p."20] gave rise to a select committee of the House of Commons whose recommendations were implemented by the Act. [House of Commons (1844)] The policy of the Act was to discourage betting. ["Hill v. William Hill (Park Lane) Limited" [1949] AC 530, at 548 "per" Viscount Simon]

However, following a 2001 report by Sir Alan Budd, [Budd (2001)] in 2002, the UK government accepted that wagers should cease to he unenforceable as contracts, seeking to introduce a new liberalised regulatory regime in order to encourage the gambling industry. [Gambling Review (2002) 4.7/ r.108]

Gambling contracts deemed void (s.18)

The Act provided that:

However, a bet on the The Tote did not fall within the scope of the Act. ["Tote Investors v. Smoker" [1968] 1 QB 509]

Further, by the 1980s, it was feared that complex commercial risk management instruments and contracts, such as derivatives 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. [Financial Services Act 1986, s.63] [ cite book | url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VZ_-B7d6ghIC&pg=PA210&lpg=PA210&ots=c3uM0lfmKq&sig=7vOAKFHIBAcu02WKXQ1ft32xfOY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA183,M1 | pages="p."183 | title=Derivatives Handbook: Risk Management and Control | author=Schwartz, R. J. & Smith, C. W. | publisher=Wiley | year=1997 | id=ISBN 0471157651 ]

Cheating at play (s.17)

The Act provided that it was a crime to:

In 2005, Kwong Lee, Martin Fitz and Shuhal Miah were found guilty of cheating at roulette under this section. [cite web |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/incomingFeeds/article1293306.ece |title=Trapped by a sting that won too much |accessdate=2007-08-04 |format=HTML |work=TimesOnline - this article implies that the three were the first to be convicted under the Act but many cases are cited in cite book | author=Richardson, P.J. (ed.) | title=Archbold: Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice | year=2007 | publisher=Sweet & Maxwell | location=London | id=ISBN 0-421-94830-2 | pages=22-70 ]

Ireland and Northern Ireland

The Act was in force in Ireland until partition. It consequently became the law of the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922, and then of its successor states. When the autonomous region of Northern Ireland seceded from the Irish Free State and rejoined the United Kingdom on 7 December 1922, the Act became the law of Northern Ireland until repeal.

References

Bibliography

* cite book | title=Sport and the Making of Britain | author=Birley, D. | location=Manchester | publisher=Manchester University Press | year=1993 | id=ISBN 071903759X | url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qVQiOYkBvV8C&pg=PA204&lpg=PA204&dq=who+introduced+the+Gaming+Act+1845+into+parliament%3F&source=web&ots=1YzOhlvsUA&sig=ZHYJg4lPLOg1O5yenbpoZ9O5-Sg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result | pages="p."204 (Google Books)
*Budd, A (2001) " [http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/4642.aspx Gambling Review Report] ", Department for Culture, Media and Sport
*Gambling Review (2002) " [http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/4754.aspx A Safe Bet for Success] " Cm.5397
*House of Commons (1844) "Report from the Select Committee on Gaming" HC1844/297
* cite book | title=Regulating Commercial Gambling: Past, Present, and Future | author=Miers, D. | id=ISBN 0199276153 | year=2004 | location=London | publisher=Oxford University Press
* cite book | title=Smith and Monckom's The Law of Betting, Gaming and Lotteries | author=Smith, C. & Monckom, S. | year=2001 | id=ISBN 0406903131 | location=London | publisher=LexisNexis ----