Statutory Instruments
DEREGULATION
Made
22nd March 1997
Coming into force
19th April 1997
Whereas—
(a)the Secretary of State is of the opinion that a provision of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963(1), which is the subject of this Order, imposes burdens affecting persons in the carrying on of a trade, business, profession or otherwise and that by amending the provision concerned it is possible to remove or reduce the burdens without removing any necessary protection;
(b)he has consulted such organisations as appear to him to be representative of interests substantially affected by his proposals and such other persons as he considers appropriate;
(c)it appears to the Secretary of State that it is appropriate, following that consultation, to proceed with the making of this Order;
(d)a document setting out the Secretary of State’s proposals has been laid before Parliament in accordance with section 3 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994(2) and the period for Parliamentary consideration under section 4 of that Act has expired;
(e)the Secretary of State has had regard to the representations made during that period;
(f)a draft of this Order has been laid before Parliament with a statement giving details of such representations; and
(g)a draft of this Order has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.
Now, therefore, the Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 1 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994, hereby makes the following Order:
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Deregulation (Football Pools) Order 1997 and shall come into force 28 days after the day on which it is made.
(2) This Order does not extend to Northern Ireland.
2. In section 1(4D) of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963(3) (which defines a “qualifying competition” so as to require that the forecasts in the competition are made on football games played on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday), in paragraph (a), the words “to be played on a Saturday, a Sunday or a day that is a bank holiday in England and Wales or in Scotland under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971” are hereby repealed.
Timothy Kirkhope
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Home Office
22nd March 1997
(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order is made under section 1 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994. It reduces restrictions on business by allowing the retailing of additional football pools competitions through premises. At present, under section 1 of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963 (the 1963 Act), pools competitions may only be retailed through premises where each entry in the competition consists of a forecast as to four or more games of association football to be played on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday. This Order removes the requirement for the games to be played on particular days.
Under section 21(3) of the 1963 Act, the minimum age for participation in betting transactions is reduced from 18 to 16 in the case of pools competitions that may be retailed through premises; accordingly this Order has the effect of extending the pools competitions in which 16 and 17 year olds may participate.
Article 1 of the Order makes provision for its citation, commencement and extent.
Article 2 of the Order amends section 1(4D) of the 1963 Act, with the effect explained above.