Betting and Gaming (CAP. 47 1

CHAPTER 47

THE BETTING AND GAMING ACT

Arrangement of Sections
Section

1. Short title.
2 . Interpretation.
3 . Gaming Licences.
4. Grant of Licence.
5. Imposition of Gaming Tax.
6. Maintenance of Records.
7. Additional sum payable on unpaid tax.
8. Recovery of Tax.
9. Sale of goods and chattels distrained upon.

10. Other means of recovery of tax.
1 1. Offences.
12. Regulations.
13. Licence not transferable.
14. Appearance and plea by corporation.
15. Penalty for breach of condition of licence.
16. Enforcement and penalties.

SCHEDULE.

LAM'S OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Betting and Gaming (CAP. 47 3

BETTING AND GAMING

(4th July, 1963.)

1. This Act may be cited as the Betting and Gaming Short
Act.

2. In this Act, except where the context otherwise Interpretation.
requires, the following expressions have the following mean-
ings respectively, that is to say-

"Commissioner" means the officer for the time being
performing the duties of Commissioner of Inland
Revenue and includes any officer duly authorised
to act on his behalf;

L 6 game of chance" includes a game of chance and skill
combined and a pretended game of chance or of
chance and skill combined, but does not include
any athletic game or sport;

"gaming" means the playing of a game of chance for
winning in money or money's worth;

"licensed gaming premises" means premises in respect
of which a gaming licence is for the time being in
force;

L L licensee", in relation to licensed gaming premises,
means the holder of the gaming licence for the time
being in force in respect of those premises;

"lottery" includes any game, method or device whereby
money or money's worth is distributed or allotted
in any manner depending upon, or to be deter-
mined by chance or lot, held, drawn, exercised or
managed;

" money" includes a cheque, banknote, postal order or
any token representing money;

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

4 CAP. 47) Betting and Gaming

< ' person" includes any company or association or body
of persons corporate or unincorporate;

( ( winnings" includes winnings of any kind.

Gaming licences. 3. (1) Where in the case of any premises there is for
the time being in force a licence authorising the holder of
the licence to use those premises for the purposes of gaming
(in this Act referred to as "a gaming licence"), then subsec-

Cap. 405. tion (1) of section 28 of the Small Charges Act shall not apply
to the use of those premises for the effecting of any gaming
transaction with or through the holder of the licence or any
servant or agent of his.

(2) Nothing contained in any rule of law, or in subsec-
tions (1) to (7) of section 28 of the Small Charges Act shall
apply to any gaming or betting, or to any lottery promoted,
organised, conducted or carried on by any person in any
building or place in accordance with the terms and condi-
tions of a valid gaming licence issued under this Act.

Grant of licence. 4. (1) The Minister may grant to any person a gam-
ing licerice and he may refuse to grant, or at any time for
any reason, after giving to the holder of the gaming licence
an opportunity of being heard, revoke a gaming licence issued
under this Act and his decision revoking any gaming licence
shall be final and no appeal shall lie from it to any Court.

(2) In respect of any application for a licence such
annual fee as the Minister may from time to time fix shall
be payable by the licensee to the Commissioner during the
currency of the licence and the first of such payments shall
be made on the day on which the licence takes effect, and
subsequent payments shall be made at intervals of twelve
months thereafter.

Imposition of 5 . (1) A tax to be called gaming tax is charged in
Gaming tax. respect of gaming at licensed gaming premises.

(2) The gaming tax is at the rate of fifteen per cent of
the total amount collected in respect of gaming by the
licensee.

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Betting and Gaming (CAP. 47 5

(3) The licensee shall collect the gaming tax and account
for it in such manner as may be prescribed.

(4) The gaming tax due under this Act shall be paid
daily to the Commissioner at such time as the Commissioner
may from time to time direct, together with a return in such
form as may be specified by the Commissioner, and shall
form part of the Consolidated Fund.

(5) Directions given by the Commissioner pursuant to
subsection (4) must be in writing under his hand.

6. (1) Every licensee shall keep and maintain a daily 2;:;E~ance
record of the amount collected in respect of gaming and shall
make such record available on request for examination by
the Commissioner.

(2) The Commissioner has power to enter gaming
premises and to require the production to him by the pro-
prietor of such documents as he may reasonably require in
order to ascertain the amount of tax due.

7. Where any tax remains unpaid at the expiration Additional sum
payable on unpaid

of twenty-four hours after the time at which it should have ,,,.
been paid to the Commissioner, the licensee liable to have
paid the same shall be charged an additional sum equal to
ten per centum of the amount so remaining unpaid, and such
sum shall be collectable from the licensee in the same man-
ner as if it were part of tax then due and unpaid.

8. (1) Where any gaming tax is unpaid and six days Recovery tax.
have elapsed since the same became due and payable, the
Commissioner may authorise the levying of a distress upon
the goods, chattels, and effects of the licensee.

(2) For the purpose of levying any distress under this
section, any person may, if expressly authorised by writing
under the hand of the Commissioner, execute any warrant
of distress, and if necessary break open any building in the
day time for the purpose of levying such distress; and he
may call to his assistance any peace officer, and it shall be
the duty of every peace officer, when so required, to aid and
assist in the execution of any warrant of distress and in levy-
ing the distress.

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

6 CAP. 47) Betting and Gaming

of goods and 9. (1) Where any goods and chattels of the licensee
chattels distrained
upon. have been distrained upon under section 8 they shall be

marked and deposited in some place, or left in the posses-
sion of some fit person as the Commissioner shall direct.

(2) If the tax in respect of which the levy was made
and all expenses incident to such levy are not sooner paid,
all goods and chattels distrained upon under section 8 shall
be sold at public auction at such place and during such hours
as the Commissioner shall determine.

(3) No sale under section (2) shall take place within five
days of the seizure of such goods and chattels unless the same
are in opinion of the Commissioner of a perishable nature,
or the owner of such goods and chattels has requested their
earlier sale.

(4) The date, time and place of sale of all goods and
chattels, distrained upon under section 8 shall be advertised
prior to the date of sale thereof in a least one issue of the
Gazette and of a newspaper circulating in Antigua and
Barbuda unless such goods and chattels are being sold by
the Commissioner before the expiry of the period of five days
under circumstances referred to in subsection (3).

(5) The proceeds of sale of such goods and chattels shall
be applied first towards the payment of the expenses inci-
dent to their seizure and sale and the payment of the tax
in respect of which they were seized, and the balance, if any,
of the proceeds of such sale shall be paid to the proprietor
from whom the goods and chattels were distrained upon,
upon application being made for the same.

Other means of
recovery of tax.

10. (1) The gaming tax may be recovered as a debt
due to the Crown from the licensee, as well as by the means
provided for by sections 8 and 9.

(2) In any proceedings under this section a certificate
purporting to be signed by the Commissioner certifying the
amount of tax due shall be regarded as prima facie evidence
of that fact.

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Betting and Gaming (CAP. 47 7

1 . (1) Any licensee who- Offences.

(a) wilfully fails to account for, or to pay the tax
due in the manner prescribed by this Act; or

(b) knowingly furnishes a return required under
section 5(4) that is false in any material particular

is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction
to a fine of twenty-five thousand dollars and to imprison-
ment for a term of one year.

(2) Any person who wilfully obstructs or hinders the
Commissioner in the performance of his duty or the exer-
cise of his authority under this Act is guilty of an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten thou-
sand dollars and to imprisonment for a term of one year.

(3) Where an offence is committed by a body corporate,
any person who at the time of the commission of the offence
was a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer
of the body corporate, or purported to act in such capacity,
is deemed to have committed the offence unless he proves
that the offence was committed without his consent or con-
nivance and that he exercised all such diligence to prevent
the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised
having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity
and to all the circumstances.

12. (1) The Minister may make regulations for car- Regulations.
rying into effect the provisions of this Act, and in particular
but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing may
make regulations-

(a) providing for the cards, tokens or other articles
to be used in gaming, and for the supply or the inspec-
tion by the Board of such cards, tokens or articles as
aforesaid;

(b) prescribing the records to be kept by the holders
of licences under this Act;

(6) prescribing the accounts to be kept by the
holders of licences under this Act and requirements for
the audit of such accounts;

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

8 CAP. 47) Bettin8 and Gamin,

(d) providing for the supply to the Minister of
information regarding premises licensed under this Act
and the activities of any person upon such premises;

( e ) with respect to the stationing of inspectors or
other officers upon premises licensed under this Act,
and the functions of such officers;

prescribing maximum stakes which may be per-
mitted in any gaming at premises licensed under this
Act;

Cg) verifying and checking the amount of the
takings on any day or during any period at premises
licensed under this Act;

(h ) for any purpose for which regulations are
authorised or required to be made under this Act;

( i ) prescribing anything authorised or required by
this Act to be prescribed;

(2) The Minister may, by Regulation, provide that the
breach of any regulation made under this Act shall constitute
an offence and may provide for penalties on summary con-
viction of a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars.

Licence not
transferable.

13. (1) No person to whom a licence has been granted
under section 4 of this Act shall transfer or assign it to any
other person, or in any way alter, deface or destroy such
licence before the date of expiration thereof.

(2) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with
the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence
and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars or to imprisonment
for six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

Appearance and 14. (1) Where a corporation is charged with an
plea by
corporation. offence under this Act, such corporation may appear and

plead to the charge by its representative, by entering a plea
in writing; and, if either the corporation does not appear
by representative, or though it does so appear, fails to enter
any plea, the court shall cause a plea of not guilty to be
recorded and the trial shall proceed accordingly.

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Betting and Gaming (CAP. 47 9

(2) In this section the expression "representative7' in
relation to a corporation means a person duly appointed by
the corporation to represent it for the purpose of doing any
act or thing which the representative of a corporation is by
this section authorised to do, but a person so appointed shall
not, by virtue only of being so appointed, be qualified to
act on behalf of the corporation before any court for any
other purpose.

(3) A representative for the purposes of this section need
not be appointed under the seal of the corporation, and a
statement in writing purporting to be signed by a managing
director of the corporation, or by any person (by whatever
name called) having, or being one of the persons having the
management of the affairs of the corporation, to the effect
that the person named in the statement has been appointed
as the representative of the corporation for the purposes of
this section shall be admissible without further proof as prima

facie evidence that that person has been so appointed.

15. (1) Any person who contravenes or fails to com- Penalty for
breach of

ply with the terms and conditions of a valid licence granted condition of
to him under section 4 of this Act shall be guilty of an of- licence.
fence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars, or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or to
both such fine and imprisonment, and the court, by or before
which he is convicted may, in addition to any penalty it may
impose, order the licence in relation to which the offence
was committed to be forfeited and cancelled.

(2) An Order made under subsection (1) of this sec-
tion shall be deemed for the purpose of any appeal to be
part of the sentence for the offence; and the licence shall
not be forfeited or cancelled under that Order-

(a) until the date of expiration of the period within
which notice of appeal against the conviction or sentence
may be given; nor

(6) if notice of appeal against the conviction or
sentence is duly given within the period aforesaid, until
the date of the determination or abandonment of the
appeal.

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

10 CAP. 47) Betting and Gaming

(3) Where a licence is forfeited and cancelled in pur-
suance of an Order made by the Court under this section,
the Clerk of the Court by which the Order was made, or
the Registrar of the High Court, as the case may be, shall
send a copy of the Order to the Minister for the information
of the Cabinet.

Enforcement and
penalties.

16. (1) If any magistrate or justice of the peace is
satisfied on information on oath that there is reasonable
ground for suspecting that an offence under this Act is being,
has been or is about to be committed on any licensed gaming
premises, he may issue a warrant in writing authorising any
police officer to enter those premises, if necessary by force,
at any time within fourteen days from the time of the issue
of the warrant and search them; and any police officer who
enters the premises under the authority of the warrant may
seize and remove any document, money or valuable thing,
instrument or other thing whatsoever found on the said
premises which he has reasonable cause to believe may be
required as evidence for the purposes of proceedings in respect
of any such offence.

(2) The court by or before which any person is con-
victed of any offence as aforesaid may order anything pro-
duced to the court and shown to the satisfaction of the court
to relate to the offence to be forfeited and dealt with in such
manner as the court may order.

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Betting and Gaming (CAP. 47

SCHEDULE

The Betting and Gaming Act

TO.. .................................................. .(person authorised)
and to all Peace Officers

I.. .............................................. Commissioner of Inland
Revenue by virtue of the power vested in me by section 8 of the
Betting and Gaming Act, do hereby authorise you to collect and
recover the several amounts due for gaming tax from the licensee
specified in the list attached hereto, together with the additional
sum of ten per cent accruing under section 7 of the Act, and for
the recovery thereof.

I further authorise you that you, with the aid, if necessary,
of your assistants and calling to your assistance any Peace Officer,
if necessary, which assistance they are hereby required to give,
do forthwith levy by distress such sums, together with such addi-
tional sum of ten per cent and also the costs and charges of and
incident to the taking and keeping of such distress, on the goods,
chattels, or other distrainable things of the proprietor charges with
such tax or sum. And for the purpose of levying such distress you
are hereby authorised, if necessary, with such assistance as men-
tioned before, to break open any building in the daytime.

Given under my hand at.. ............................. this

day of 19 .

.....................................
Commissioner of Inland Revenue.