Introduction Background Note
6.Gambling is in principle exempt from VAT under EU law, although Member States have discretion as to the scope of the exemption they apply. In the UK, betting, gaming and lotteries are generally exempt from VAT under Group 4 of Schedule 9 to the VAT Act. However, Note 1(b) to Group 4 excluded from the exemption “the granting of a right to play a game of chance for a prize unless the playing of the game is excepted from this paragraph by Note (5)”. This in effect taxed participation fees for playing bingo and other games of chance, apart from certain exceptions for remote gaming and various categories of small scale gaming specifically listed in the law. (Participation fees are charges that a gaming operator makes to customers for participating in gaming. They may take the form of a fixed fee or a percentage of any stakes kept by the operator.)
7.The effect of the amendments in this section is to exempt from VAT all participation fees for gaming.