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.[1]

Betting and Gaming Act 1960
Act of Parliament
Citation
  • 8 & 9 Eliz. 2. c. 60
  • 1960 c. 60
Dates
Commencement1 January 1961
Other legislation
Repeals
Repealed byBetting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963
Relates toGaming Act 1968
Status: Repealed
Records of Parliamentary debate relating to the statute from Hansard

The Act

Based on the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Betting, Lotteries and Gaming, 1949–51,[2] the act came into force on 1 January 1961 and first allowed gambling for small sums in games of skill such as bridge.[3] From May 1961 betting shops were allowed to open.[4]

Until 1965 about 16,000 licences were granted by local magistrates.[5]

Aim

The aim was to take gambling off the street and end the practice of runners (employed by bookmakers) collecting from punters, a move welcomed by the clergy. Fines would be imposed at a later date to any street gambling.[1]

Consequences

The opening of betting shops affected the greyhound racing industry in the United Kingdom with attendances suffering throughout Britain. From 1961-1969 there were 21 National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) registered track closures[6] and many independent (unaffiliated to a governing body) track closures. The act is regarded as one of the primary reasons for the decline of greyhound racing with 91 NGRC track closures alone recorded from 1960-2010.[7]

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See also

References
  1. "1960: Game on for British betting shops". BBC News.
  2. "The Betting and Gaming Act, 1960". Journal of Criminal Law. 25 (2): 149–55. 1961. doi:10.1177/002201836102500209.
  3. "On this day: 1 September 1960 Game on for British betting shops". BBC News Online. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  4. Stan Hey (5 April 2008). "Our national love affair: a history of the betting shop". The Independent. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  5. Rock, Graham (2001-04-29). "Past, present and future of legal betting". the Guardian. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  6. Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 07207-1106-1.
  7. Hobbs, Jonathan (2007). Greyhound Annual 2008. Raceform. ISBN 978-1-905153-53-4.


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