Notice

Excise Notice 147a — Pool Betting Duty

Updated 13 December 2021

1. Introduction

This notice concerns Pool Betting Duty (PBD) from 1 December 2014. Excise Notice 147: Pool Betting Duty (pre 1 December 2014) remains in force for PBD prior to December 2014.

Pool Betting Duty (PBD) is charged at the rate of 15% of a bookmaker’s profit from pool bets (other than those on horse racing or dog racing) made with a bookmaker:

• in a UK betting shop, by a customer regardless of where the customer usually lives
• not in a UK betting shop, by a UK person regardless of where in the world the bookmaker is

From December 2014 the government reformed PBD, General Betting Duty (GBD) (apart from spread betting) and Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) so that these duties apply on a ‘place of consumption’ basis. This means bookmakers pay UK Gambling Duty on their gross gambling profits from UK customers no matter where in the world the bookmakers are located.

This notice is only concerned with PBD. For other duties, see General Betting Duty (Excise Notice 451a) and Remote Gaming Duty (Excise Notice 455a).

Certain paragraphs within this notice have the force of law under the:

• Finance Act 2014 (the Act)
• General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Registration, Records and Agents) Regulations 2014 (Statutory Instrument (SI) 2014/2257) - (Registration Regulations 2014)
• General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Returns, Payments, Information and Records) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/2912) - (Returns Regulations 2014)
• Revenue Traders (Accounts and Records) Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/3150)

Text in this notice which has the force of law is indicated by being placed in a box. See the following example.

Example of ‘force of law’ text

Text shown in boxes has the force of law

For more information, read General Betting Duty, Pool Betting Duty and Remote Gaming Duty to help you comply with your obligations.

Where this notice mentions the UK, this does not include the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands or Gibraltar.

2. Definitions

2.1 Bookmaker

A bookmaker is defined for these purposes at section 189 of the Act as a person who:

• carries on the business of receiving or negotiating bets or conducting pool betting operations (whether as principal or agent and whether regularly or not)
• holds themselves out or permits themselves to be held out, in the course of a business, as a person who receives or negotiates bets or conducts pool betting

2.2 UK person

In the case of pool bets (other than on horse racing or dog racing) made with a bookmaker not in a UK betting shop, PBD is charged on the bookmaker’s profits from pool betting by a UK person regardless of where in the world the bookmaker is located.

A UK person is defined for these purposes under section 186 of the Act as:

• an individual who usually lives in the UK
• a body corporate which is legally constituted in the UK

We have the power to make statutory provision in a notice about how to determine whether a customer is or is not a UK person. We’ve used this power as follows.

The following has the force of law made under section 186 of the Act

HMRC specifies that, where it’s relevant for the purposes of establishing liability for PBD whether a customer is or is not a UK person, the following steps must be taken.

Step 1

1.1. Bookmakers must keep appropriate records to enable them to verify whether customers are UK persons (that is, whether they usually live in the UK) or whether they usually live outside the UK. Bookmakers have a responsibility to keep their records on customer location up to date. These records must be capable of audit by HMRC.

1.2. All bookmakers should initially require their customers to state the address at which they usually live at the time the customer registers to bet with the bookmaker. If no address is given the customer will be regarded as being a UK person.

1.3. When a UK address is given, the customer will be regarded as being a UK person.

Step 2

2.1. If a customer gives a non-UK address, bookmakers must verify the customer’s declared location by reference to other information in their systems. It’s not acceptable for bookmakers to simply accept assertions from customers about where they live.

2.2. In cases of a verification system returning a conflicting result with some information indicating the customer is a UK person and other information indicating the contrary, then the following tests should be applied.

2.3. Bookmakers should consider the customer’s statement that they do not live in the UK against all other information they hold about the customer (for whatever reason it has been collected). If 2 current pieces of information indicate a UK address then the customer will be deemed to be a UK person regardless of their statement that they live elsewhere. Typical information items will be the customer’s:

• address on a bank statement
• address associated with a credit card
• address on their driving licence
• contact phone number and the country code attached to it

2.4. If any 2 or more of these information items are known to the bookmaker and they return a result as the UK, then irrespective of whether the customer has provided an address outside the UK, they must treat that customer as a UK person for the purposes of gambling duties taxation. This is known as the ‘Two UK Indicators Rule’.

We’re not prescriptive about what the information at step 2.1 should be, or how many information items should be collected. We expect a robust system to have in-built verification but are not prescriptive about what that verification has to be.

Where the steps also concern record keeping, statutory provision is made at paragraph 11.

3. PBD calculations

PBD is payable on your profit for each accounting period (see paragraph 6).

For pool betting, your profits for each accounting period is the difference between the:

• total amount of money due to you as stake money from UK customers, and
• amount of stake money that goes into the pool to become the winnings

Stake money is the aggregate of all the amounts due from customers for the bets they make. This may include any additional entry fee or participation charge that is imposed.

You must treat stake money as falling due when the bet is made, regardless of when it’s actually paid. See paragraph 3.6 and paragraph 3.9.

It’s standard practice to take a portion of these stakes either before or after putting them into the pool. It’s the total amount of UK stakes which you keep, rather than make available as winnings in the pool, which is your dutiable profit. This retained sum is sometimes referred to as your ‘commission’ and is the taxable amount.

If you take a commission before the stakes go in the pool, and another afterwards, you would need to add together these 2 sums.

3.1 Amounts taken from stakes

The most straightforward way to work out the duty due is when the operator takes their commission from the stakes before any money goes into the pool, as it should be easy for the operator to identify all UK stakes. Duty would be chargeable on that commission taken from UK customers.

3.2 Amounts taken out of a pool

If commission is taken after the stakes go into the pool it may be more difficult to identify which of the stakes came from UK or non-UK customers.

Where the pool comprises contributions from only UK customers, duty is due on the whole amount taken out of the pool for purposes other than the payment of winnings (described as deductions).

Where the pool comprises contributions from both UK and non-UK customers, you must calculate the amount liable to duty only on the UK portion of those deductions. See paragraph 3.3.

3.3 Apportionment

To work out the duty you need to pay on your deductions, you need to apportion your ‘UK share’.

You carry out this apportionment by looking at the amount of stakes due from UK customers as a proportion of the stakes due from all customers, that is, both UK and non UK.

A simple example of this apportionment process would be if there was £250 of stakes from UK customers in a total pool of £1,000, 25% of any deductions which you take from that pool will be dutiable. This apportionment is applied as follows:

• where the deductions are taken from a pool specific to an event or events, such as a single football match, the amount liable to duty is calculated by multiplying the total deductions removed from the pool by the UK proportion of the total stakes in that pool

• where the deductions are taken from a pool specific to a period of time, for example the football pools which relate to a series of football matches over one day, the amount liable to duty is calculated by multiplying the total deductions removed from the pool by the UK proportion of the total stakes in that pool, for that time period

• where the deductions are taken from a pool that relates to something other than a specific event or events or period of time, such as an open-ended rollover, the amount liable to duty is calculated by multiplying the total deductions removed from the pool by the UK proportion of the stakes in that pool, at the point in time the deductions are taken

3.4 Top up amounts to a pool containing both UK and non-UK players

In some circumstances you may have to top up the pool. For example, if you guarantee a jackpot of a particular sum but have not received enough stakes to meet that sum, you’ll have to ‘top up’ the pool with your own money, to make up the difference and meet the expected jackpot sum. Where the pool comprises contributions from both UK and non-UK customers, only the appropriate UK portion of this ‘top up’ sum can be included in the duty calculation.

The following has the force of law made under section 145(3)(b) of the Act

In order to determine the appropriate proportion, you must use the same calculation that you use to apportion the amounts taken out.

3.5 Calculating your profit

To calculate your profit, the law stipulates 5 steps that must be looked at. Depending on the complexity of your arrangements you might need to consider all 5 steps, or might not need to go beyond step 1 or 2.

The 5 step approach

Step 1

Take the total amount of stakes payable by UK customers and deduct from it the total amount that you assign to the pool. The remainder is included in your duty calculation.

For example if £1,000 paid in UK stakes, £700 assigned to the pool, the remainder of £300 is the dutiable sum.

Step 2

If you use any amount in the pool for purposes other than to pay winnings, calculate the UK portion of this sum. To do this, divide the amount of UK contributions to the pool by the total amount of UK and non-UK contributions. This will give you the UK fraction of the pool. Multiply this by the amount you’ve taken from the pool to arrive at the UK portion, which is included in the duty calculation.

Continuing with the example, of a total pool of £2,100, £700 has come from UK customers. You take £600 from the pool. The UK fraction is one-third, (£700 ÷ £2,100) so multiply £600 by a third, which is £200. Add this £200 to your duty calculation.

Step 3

Add together the total amounts from steps 1 and 2:

£300 + £200 = £500

Step 4

If you add any money to the pool to top up the winnings you must also calculate the UK portion of this top up sum by multiplying it by the same proportion as done at step 2.

You add £90. Multiply this by the UK fraction, one-third, which gives you £30.

Step 5

Subtract any amount in step 4 from the total calculated at step 3:

£500 – £30 = £470

Duty is chargeable on the final sum calculated at step 5:

£470

3.6 When stakes fall due

The time when you must account for stakes, for the purpose of your profits calculation, depends on when the event takes place to which the stakes relate, as follows:

• if the bet relates to either a single event, or 2 or more events, which take place on the same day, the stakes are treated as falling due on the day on which the event or events take place
• in any other case, the stakes are treated as falling due when the bet is made

For example, in the traditional football pools competition, entries can be made week-by-week, or by a standing forecast for a number of weeks. As the bet (or bets) relate to a number of matches being played on the same day, the stakes attributable to each particular bet will fall due on the day the matches are played.

Therefore, if a player makes an advance payment to cover a whole season’s games that payment will need to be apportioned so that the stakes only fall due on the days the events betted on take place.

In other competitions where the result depends on the outcome of a series of events over a period of time, for example, in a fantasy football-type competition, the stakes are treated as falling due when the initial bet is made. Any additional payments made throughout the time the competition is running, for example, to vary the initial selection, are treated as stakes, and the transactions as bets. These stakes are treated as falling due when that bet is made.

The rules apply regardless of when the stake money is actually paid or due to be paid.

3.7 Winnings

When calculating your profits, for bets made with you, only payments of money can be deducted as winnings. The amount of winnings can include:

• stakes that you’ve returned to customers
• any winnings which you’ve credited to your customers’ accounts, rather than paid over in actual cash, providing you’ve let them know that the winnings are there in their account and that they can withdraw them at any time

If you have not told the customer that you’ve credited their account, then you cannot include these sums in your PBD calculation. If your customer is not free to withdraw their winnings then you cannot include these sums.

Make sure you only include winnings in your profits’ calculation in the accounting period in which they’re actually paid out. Only include customer’s winnings in your calculation from the date you notify them that you’ve credited their accounts and that they’re available for withdrawal. Normally the issue of a statement to your customers will create this date. However, there may be occasions where you can show that they were notified earlier. If so, you’re entitled to include the winning amounts in your calculation from the earlier date.

Any winnings on a bet where no stake money was due cannot be included in any PBD calculations, see paragraph 3.11.

3.8 Losses

If you make a loss in an accounting period because you pay out more money for winning bets than you’re due from bets made with you, then you’ll have no duty to pay. You must show any loss in the relevant box on the PBD return. You can carry over any losses as a negative profits’ amount from one accounting period into the next accounting period.

There’s no provision to repay any ‘unused’ loss carried forward. This means that if your business ceases to trade and shows negative figures in its final accounting period, you cannot claim any repayment or refund for that amount.

3.9 Bad debts

There’s no duty relief for bad debts. You must include the full value of all bets made with you in your profits’ calculation, whether or not you received payment when you accepted the bets. A bet is liable to duty even if your customer does not pay you.

3.10 Void bets

For the purpose of calculating PBD, a void bet is one that has been cancelled in accordance with a bookmaker’s previously agreed terms and conditions of pool betting.

For accounting purposes however, if you’ve included the bet in your stakes received figure for your profits calculation when the bet was made, and you’ve returned the stake to your customer, you can cancel the bet by including the returned stake as winnings paid out.

We may need proof that a bet has become void. Simply failing to receive payment from your customer does not make a bet void.

3.11 Free and discounted bets

Promotional offers made by bookmakers may be in the form of free or discounted bets.

Bookmakers often use the term ‘bonuses’ to apply to free bets, but this term can also be used to refer to other incentives which are not free bets, such as free gifts or loyalty points that can be exchanged, for example, for store vouchers. The value of such incentives, whether they’re given away or won as prizes fall outside PBD.

PBD is not due on free bets. Without stake money, there’s no bet for Pool Betting Duty purposes. This means however, that if you pay winnings to a person who was not required to pay stake money, those winnings cannot be included in your profits’ calculation.

Alternatively, you may decide to give away free bet vouchers in newspapers, or other advertising sources. If you’re reimbursed for the value of these vouchers, you must include any payments you receive and any winnings you pay out in respect of such bets in your profits’ calculation in the normal way.

If you offer discounted bets, the value of the stake is the amount that your customer pays. For example, an individual playing the football pools weekly pays £1 per week. However, they can make a standing forecast for a whole year for £48, a discount of £4. For the purposes of your profits’ calculation, the weekly stake money is £48 divided by 52 of the amount paid.

Freeplays when used fall subject to the appropriate tax treatment. However, the tax treatment can differ for the different gambling duties. See the notices relating to GBD and RGD (GBD 451a and RGD 455a) for how to treat free plays when calculating GBD or RGD.

4. Particular competitions

4.1 Spot the ball

Historically HMRC differentiated between spot the ball competitions where the position of the ball was determined from an actual photograph of a game from those where the position was determined by a panel of experts. However, following a recent Court of Appeal judgment, HMRC now accepts that all spot the ball competitions are games of chance and are therefore exempt from PBD.

4.2 ‘Fantasy’ competitions

Whether ‘fantasy’ football and similar competitions fall within the definition of pool betting, will depend upon the rules of the competition. Generally, any competition that constitutes betting and has an entry fee and prizes is liable to duty. Such competitions will normally, but not always, include the forecasting of a future event or events. This includes, for example, a player picking a team, which they think will perform better than any other player’s team over a given period.

5. Registration

5.1 Registration applications

All bookmakers liable to PBD must be registered with HMRC. Applications for registration must be made at least 31 days before your intended start date. This is reduced to 14 days in advance for businesses based in the UK, EU, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Norway, the Faroes, Iceland, New Zealand or South Africa.

Any bookmaker who holds or is required to hold a Remote Operating Licence (ROL) must use the online registration system. A paper registration application may only be made by a bookmaker not required to hold a ROL. A ROL is issued by the Gambling Commission — see section 67 of the Gambling Act 2005.

The following has the force of law under the General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Registration, Records and Agents) Regulations 2014 made under section 164(3)(a) of the Act

1. Online registration system

The applicant, in order to make an online registration application, must:

Step 1. Set up a Government Gateway account (if not already set up) by following all prompts.

Step 2. Enter their Government Gateway credentials to Register for gambling taxes.

Step 3. Complete the application in full through the Gambling Tax Service (GTS) and follow all prompts.

Step 4. Keep records of the on-screen automatic acknowledgment confirming completion of the registration application, together with the unique acknowledgment reference number.

2. Paper registration application

The applicant, in order to make a paper registration application, must complete form PBD1: Pool Betting Duty — Application to register a business.

When an applicant has completed form PBD1 they must send it by post to:

HMRC
Excise Processing Teams
BX9 1GL

Applications sent to any other address may not be accepted.

5.2 Information to include in an application for registration

Applicants for registration using the GTS must follow the prompts and provide the information requested on screen.

Applicants making a paper registration application must complete form PBD1: Pool Betting Duty — Application to register a business. Form PBD1 asks the applicant to provide the information specified as follows.

The following has the force of law under the General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Registration, Records and Agents) Regulations 2014 made under section 164 (3)(c) of the Act

HMRC specifies that applicants making a paper registration application must provide the following information:

(a) Legal entity type of the business that’s the subject of the application.

(b) Trading name (if any) of the business that is the subject of the application.

(c) Name, address and contact details of the business that is the subject of the application.

(d) Other correspondence address (if any).

(e) Date of start of taxable pool betting.

(f) An indication of expected annual taxable profits from pool betting.

(g) Gambling Commission licence number(s) (if any).

(h) In the case of the business having a sole proprietor, date of birth of the sole proprietor plus National Insurance number (if any) of the sole proprietor.

(i) In the case of the business being a partnership, name, address, contact details, dates of birth and National Insurance numbers (if any) of all partners.

(j) In the case of the business being a corporate body, date of incorporation and incorporation number. Also country of incorporation if not the UK.

(k) In the case of the business being a limited liability partnership, date of incorporation and incorporation number.

(l) In the case of a business not described in (h) to (k), a description of the legal entity of the business.

(m) Any reference number issued by HMRC, as requested.

5.3 Changes to information given at registration

You must tell us about any changes to, or inaccuracies in, the information supplied on your application for registration within one month of the date of registration or within one month of the changes or inaccuracies happening (whichever is the later).

We’ve made statutory provision in relation to this.

The following has the force of law under the General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Registration, Records and Agents) Regulations 2014 made under section 164(3)(d) of the Act

Notification of changes to application for registration

The applicant (or, if the application has been accepted, the registered person) must notify HMRC of any changes or inaccuracies in the information supplied on their application for registration by the appropriate method. There are 2 methods as follows.

Method 1

Where the application was made using the online registration system, by making the changes through the GTS Online Service.

Method 2

Where the application was made on paper, by sending the new or correct information, in writing, to the following address:

HMRC
Excise Processing Teams
BX9 1GL

Information sent to any other address may not be accepted.

5.4 Group registration

A group may be formed by corporate bodies under common control. The group must appoint a Group Lead Member (GLM). The GLM must have a principal place of business in the UK.

The common controller itself need not be registerable for PBD.

A corporate body can only join a group registration for PBD if the corporate body itself is registerable for PBD.

All members of a PBD group are jointly and severally liable for all other group members’ PBD liabilities. The GLM must obtain from all prospective group members written confirmation that they consent to joining the group. All prospective group members must confirm to all other (prospective) group members that they understand the position on joint and several liability.

A PBD group registration is only valid for PBD. Any liability to another gambling tax needs a separate registration for that tax.

5.5 How to apply

The following has the force of law under the General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Registration, Records and Agents) Regulations 2014 made under section 164(6) and (7) of the Act

1. Online registration system (GTS)

To register online, the GLM must:

Step 1. Set up a Government Gateway account (if not already set up) and follow all prompts.

Step 2. Enter their Government Gateway credentials to Register for gambling taxes.

Step 3. Complete the application in full (including any supplementary information in respect of group treatment) through the GTS and follow all prompts.

Step 4. Keep records of the on-screen automatic acknowledgment confirming completion of the registration application, together with the unique acknowledgment reference number.

2. Paper registration application

The GLM, in order to make a paper registration application, must complete forms:

• PBD1: Pool Betting Duty — Application to register a business
• PBD3: Pool Betting Duty — Application for group treatment
• PBD3A: Pool Betting Duty — Members to be included in a group

When the GLM has completed the forms they must send them by post to:

HMRC
Excise Processing Teams
BX9 1GL

Forms sent to any other address may not be accepted.

5.6 How to change group registration information

The GLM must tell us about any changes to, or inaccuracies in, the information supplied on the application for registration within one month of the date of registration or within one month of the changes or inaccuracies happening (whichever is the later).

We’ve made statutory provision in relation to this.

The following has the force of law under the General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Registration, Records and Agents) Regulations 2014 made under section 164(6) and (7) of the Act

Notification of changes to application for group registration

The GLM must notify HMRC of any changes or inaccuracies in the information supplied on their application for registration by the appropriate method. There are 2 methods as follows.

Method 1

Where the application was made using the online registration system, by making the changes through the GTS Online Service.

Method 2

Where the application was made on paper, by sending the new or correct information, in writing, to the following address:

HMRC
Excise Processing Teams
BX9 1GL

Information sent to any other address may not be accepted.

5.7 Agents and representatives

5.7.1 Appointing an agent

You can, if you wish, appoint someone in the UK to manage your PBD affairs. HMRC describes a person acting on your behalf as an ‘agent’. An agent can be an accountant but does not have to be. You, and not the agent, will still remain liable for paying PBD and for any penalties.

If you want to appoint an agent to act on your behalf, you can do this when you register online or as a change to your existing GTS registration. Your agent will need to have a Government Gateway identifier and be enrolled for the Gambling Tax agent online service. As the online GTS covers PBD, General Betting Duty and Remote Gaming Duty your agent will be able to view all your gambling tax liabilities and payments online.

HMRC cannot discuss your PBD affairs with your agent until your agent has been authorised.

For more information see Find out how to use the Gambling Tax for Agents online service.

5.7.2 Appointing a representative

You’ll need to appoint an HMRC representative in the UK if you are not in a group registration or you’re not based in any of the following places:

• the EU
• the UK
• Norway, the Faroes, Iceland, New Zealand or South Africa
• a jurisdiction which has an agreement with the UK to enforce gambling tax debts on behalf of the UK — such agreements are in place with Gibraltar and the Isle of Man

The appointment of your representative will form part of the online registration process, covered at paragraph 5.1, although you can start this approval process before starting your registration if you wish.

A UK representative is different from an ‘agent’ described in paragraph 5.7.1. If your representative is appointed as a fiscal representative, they must have consented to both act on your behalf and to be jointly and severally liable for all your PBD obligations.

If your representative is purely an administrative representative appointed to interact with HMRC and is not jointly and severally liable for your PBD obligations, HMRC may also require you to provide a security.

5.8 Providing a security

We may require security where:

• you need to appoint a representative in the UK and you choose to appoint a representative who will not be jointly and severally liable for your PBD
• we believe, at any time, there’s a risk to the revenue

We’ll tell you if we require security and advise how you can provide it.

For more information see General Betting Duty, Pool Betting Duty and Remote Gaming Duty: appoint a representative in the UK.

5.9 Deregistration

If you wish to deregister you must notify us as follows.

The following has the force of law under the General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Registration, Records and Agents) Regulations 2014 made under section 164(3(e) of the Act

If a registered person (including a group) ceases to be liable for PBD (or, in the case of a group, if the members cease to be eligible to form a group) they must notify HMRC confirming:

• that they’re registered for PBD including their registration number
• the date from which deregistration should take effect
• that after the date of deregistration they will not be engaging in activities liable to PBD

Deregistration notifications must be sent through the GTS Online Service or in writing to the following address:

HMRC
Excise Processing Teams
BX9 1GL

Notifications sent to any other address may not be accepted.

Any bookmaker who holds or is required to hold a ROL must use the online service to notify deregistration. A paper deregistration application may only be made by a bookmaker not required to hold a ROL.

You’re strongly advised to submit your deregistration notification within the 14 days before liability ceases. If liability has already ceased, you must submit your deregistration notification within one month from the date your liability ceased. HMRC may charge a penalty for failing to tell us about this on time.

6. Accounting periods

Returns must be made after the end of each accounting period in respect of activity during that period. An accounting period is sometimes referred to as a ‘return period’.

A standard accounting period is 3 whole calendar months starting on the first day of the first month and ending on the last day of the third month.

The following direction has the force of law made under section 165 of the Act

HMRC direct that each standard accounting period starts on the first day of a calendar month. This does not preclude non-standard accounting period arrangements being agreed under section 165(3) of the Act.

In the event of a person becoming registered for PBD part way through a calendar month, that person’s first accounting period begins on the date of registration.

Non-standard accounting periods

Section 165(3) of the Act allows HMRC to agree with individual bookmakers that they may follow non-standard accounting periods.

HMRC will only agree to non-standard accounting periods if you:

• first select a pattern of accounting periods based on 4 consecutive 3-month periods in 12 months each ending on the last day of a month
• then select 8 non-standard period end dates (each period end date must be within 16 days before or after the date that would have been the standard end date)

If you wish to continue with non-standard accounting periods after the end of the eighth period you should, during the seventh period, give HMRC a further 8 non-standard period end dates. Otherwise you’ll automatically revert back to the standard accounting periods after the eighth non-standard period.

7. Duty returns

If we do not receive each of your returns by the due date we may impose a ‘late filing’ penalty.

The due date is the 30th day following the end of every accounting period. If the 30th day is not a business day, it must be received by the last business day before that day.

In this notice, ‘business day’ means any day except:

• Saturday, Sunday, Good Friday or Christmas Day
• a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971
• a day appointed by Royal proclamation as a public fast or thanksgiving day
• a day declared by an order under section 2(1) of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 to be a non-business day

7.1 How to submit returns

We have made statutory provision in relation to PBD returns as follows.

The following has the force of law under the General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Returns, Payments, Information and Records) Regulations 2014 made under section 166 of the Act

1. Electronic return form

A bookmaker liable to make PBD returns who holds or is required to hold a ROL must use the GTS to make those returns.

Any bookmaker may use the GTS to make returns if they so wish. Any bookmaker who did not use the GTS to register but who wishes to use the service for making returns must obtain a Government Gateway account and enrol with HMRC for the GTS as in paragraph.

2. Paper return form

A bookmaker who’s not required to use the GTS to make returns may use the paper form provided by HMRC. This is sent out shortly after the end of the accounting period. Alternatively you can download a digital form which you can complete online before printing. The bookmaker must send the completed form by post to:

HMRC
Direct
BX5 5BD

All boxes on the return must be completed. If there’s no figure to enter into the box then a zero (‘0’) must be entered. HMRC may refuse to accept returns in which boxes have been left blank.

Nil returns

The bookmaker must submit a PBD return even if they do not have any dutiable profits.

7.2 Under-declarations

If you realise you’ve made a mistake on a return or returns which has resulted in you declaring to us less than you actually owe, you must correct that error by one of the following 2 methods:

The following has the force of law under the General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Returns, Payments, Information and Records) Regulations 2014 made under section 166 and section 167 of the Act

Method 1

Write to HMRC about the error. The postal address can be found at: Customs International Trade and Excise where the address is provided under the heading ‘post’.

Use this method for errors of any size. The letter must detail the amount of the error and the circumstances in which it came about. The amount you owe as a result of the under-declaration must accompany the letter.

Method 2

Enter the amount of the under-declaration in the relevant box on the next PBD return.

Only use the relevant box if less than 4 years has passed since the original incorrect return was due, and the overall amount of the under-declaration:

• does not exceed £10,000 (net value)
• does not exceed £50,000 (net value) and will not be more than 1% of the bookmaker’s total profits, in the accounting period during which the error was discovered
• the error was not caused because of lack of reasonable care

We may wish to look into the circumstances in which your under-declaration came about and we may impose a penalty.

7.3 Over-declarations

If you’ve made an error on a previous PBD return which has resulted in you paying too much duty, you may be entitled to be repaid the amount of your overpayment. Under the law (section 137A of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, and regulation 9 of the Revenue Traders (Accounts and Records) Regulations 1992) overpayments of PBD can only be claimed by writing to HMRC.

There is no specific form for making claims but claims must be in writing on headed paper. Any claim must contain all relevant information, including:

• your registration number
• your full bank account details
• the claim amount
• the name of registered trader
• the name of the person making the claim
• the contact telephone number

Send any claim to the following address:

HMRC
Direct
BX5 5BD

You should keep all documentary evidence to support a claim, including documents showing how and when the error arose.

7.4 Payments for late registrations

If you do not register before you start your PBD activity or trading, we’ll assess you for the duty payable in respect of the period between commencement of trading and the registration date. We may talk to you before we issue the assessment so that the assessment correctly reflects what you owe. You’ll not be able to make a return for the period for which you were liable to PBD but were not registered.

You may also be subject to penalties for failing to notify us on time. You must not account for this late payment of duty by adjusting your return.

8. Payments

If we do not receive duty payments by the due date we may impose a penalty on you.

The due date is the 30th day following the end of every accounting period. If the 30th is not a business day, it must be received by the last business day before that day. See section 7 for more information about business days.

8.1 How to pay

The following has the force of law under the General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Returns, Payments, Information and Records) Regulations 2014 made under section 167 of the Act

HMRC prescribes that payments must be made by one of the following methods:

Method 1

Electronically by online bank account payment, Bacs, CHAPS or Faster Payments, or by credit or debit card payment from a UK bank.

Method 2

By post.

Cheques must be made payable to ‘HM Revenue and Customs only’ with your PBD registration number on the reverse. Send to:

HMRC
Direct
BX5 5BD

Method 3

By SWIFT (for payments from overseas which must be in pound sterling).

Find full payment details in the guidance Pay General Betting, Pool Betting or Remote Gaming Duty.

Payment of PBD cannot be made by Direct Debit.

8.2 PBD — joint and several liability

HMRC can recover unpaid duty from the person who conducts the pool betting business, any person responsible for the management of that business or any person responsible for the management of a totalisator used in the business. Where any of these are a company, unpaid duty may be recovered from a director.

ROL

A business that provides facilities for remote gambling or advertises gambling to consumers in Britain will require a ROL from the Gambling Commission (GC) covering all the facilities they provide.

The ROL can cover such activities as taking and settling wagers. In the case of betting provided under a ROL, HMRC will only recover unpaid duty from the holder of the ROL for the business which provided the dutiable betting to the customers. HMRC will not recover duty from any other ROL holders who may be involved with the provision of services to the bookmaker.

Software operating licences

A gambling software operating licence is required by an operator who manufactures, supplies, installs or adapts gambling software that is used in connection with remote gambling. We do not consider such services provided under a software operating licence to be direct provision of facilities for remote gambling for the customer.

Gambling software operating licence holders, operating solely within the terms of their licence and not also as a bookmaker, are therefore never liable to register to pay PBD and will never be held jointly and severally liable for PBD.

8.3 Interest

Late payment interest accrues if you’re late in paying what you owe. Late payment interest is calculated on the outstanding duty from the date the amount became due and payable to the date the amount is actually paid.

Repayment interest accrues where appropriate.

Late payment and repayment interest is calculated on a simple (not compound) basis. This means that interest is only calculated on the amount of the tax or penalty (late payment interest only) and not on interest that has already been charged or accrued.

8.4 Licence revocation

The civil penalty regime exists to address matters such as late filing and late payment of duty. In the more serious cases of remote gambling operators failing to meet their gambling tax obligations, HMRC may direct the GC to ‘revoke’ their ROL. Without a ROL, a remote gambling business cannot legally advertise or transact with customers in Great Britain. These more serious breaches could be failure to:

• register
• meet specified registration conditions, such as requirements to make records available in the UK
• pay the required amount of duty at the right time
• appoint a representative or provide security as required by HMRC

Any decision for a ROL to be revoked is made by HMRC, but the action is carried out by the GC. You can ask for a review or an appeal against this decision. Any appeals must be made to the Tax Tribunal.

Before a licence is revoked HMRC will issue ‘Breach Notices’. This will be followed by action to suspend the licence before moving to revocation.

At each stage of the process, HMRC may arrange to have that ROL reinstated if the original breach has been fully remedied and no other breaches which could lead to licence revocation, have occurred. You can appeal the decision at each stage.

9. Cryptocurrencies

The following has the force of law under section 191(2) of the Act

The value of any amount in any cryptocurrency is the pound sterling value of the amount at the point the transaction (that is, the payment) takes place.

A record of all relevant checks and transactions must be kept.

For each transaction, the following records must be kept, the:

• amount of the transaction in cryptocurrency
• date and time of the transaction
• pound sterling value of the cryptocurrency on that day

The exchange which is used to provide a pound sterling value must not be a connected company. A ‘connected company’ is to be determined in accordance with section 1122 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010.

10. Community benefit exemption

10.1 Pool bets made for community benefit

There’s an exemption from PBD for bets made for community benefit.

Betting is for community benefit only if it’s organised either by a ‘community society’ or all the profits go to a community society, and the customers know that the profits go to a community society.

‘Community society’ for these purposes means a society whose:

• sole purpose is charitable
• purpose is mainly to support athletic sports or athletic games and which does not have the purpose of private gain

‘Society’ includes any club, institution, organisation or association of persons, by whatever name they’re called.

10.2 How to claim community benefit exemption

If you wish to rely on the community benefit exemption you must tell us as follows.

The following has the force of law made under section 152(2) of the Act

Anyone intending to rely on the exemption from PBD on the grounds that the betting is for community benefit must tell HMRC in writing, at least 7 working days before betting begins.

Notifications must be sent by post to:

HMRC
Excise Processing Teams
BX9 1GL

Notifications sent to any other address may not be accepted.

10.3 Rejection of community benefit exemption

We’ll consider notifications which we receive. If the betting is not eligible for the exemption because it’s not to take place in the circumstances described in paragraph 10.1, we’ll tell you.

Even if the betting is to take place in the circumstances described in paragraph 10.1 we may decide that it cannot benefit from the community benefit exemption if an unreasonably large proportion of the stakes received will be used other than for the benefit of the society or for paying out winnings.

In considering whether an unreasonably large proportion of the stakes received will be used other than for the benefit of the society or for paying out winnings, we’ll take into account, in particular whether:

• the amount to be set aside for expenses will exceed actual costs incurred
• the expenses are necessary and realistic
• any commissions (or similar) to be paid out of the stakes received are excessive

As a general guide we would not expect expenses to exceed 20% of stakes received.

11. Record keeping

Anyone who’s a ‘revenue trader’ must keep records for the purposes of PBD. The term revenue trader covers anyone who carries on a trade or business which constitutes dutiable pool betting and anyone carrying out the management or administration of a Chapter 2 stake fund.

Revenue traders’ records (Excise Notice 206) explains the general record keeping requirements which apply to revenue traders. In summary, a revenue trader must keep all business records and an Excise Duty account as an audit trail to support all figures entered on each return. You must retain all business records for the purposes of PBD for 4 years.

11.1 Access to records

All revenue traders must provide us, on request and within 14 days, with information and documents from the records. We may specify the place where information and documents are to be made available, but this place will always be somewhere in the UK (and may be a business’s principal place of business if this is in the UK).

Under our powers we require that the additional records are held and made available as follows:

The following has the force of law under Regulations 6 and 8 of the Revenue Traders (Accounts and Records) Regulations 1992 and the General Betting, Pool Betting and Remote Gaming Duties (Registration, Records and Agents) Regulations 2014 made under section 168 of the Act

1. All bookmakers liable to PBD

Must keep an Excise Duty account to be known as the Pool Betting Duty account. This must summarise by accounting period the information required to complete PBD returns.

2. Non-cash prizes and free or reduced-cost bets

What records must be kept:

• details of the circumstances in which prizes which are not cash or cash equivalents are given out and the value of such non-cash prizes
• details of any offers of free bets or reduced-cost bets, the take up and use of such offers and the value had the full amount been staked

3. Pool bets (other than on horse racing or dog racing) made in a betting shop

What records must be kept:

• the gross amount of stake money received in an accounting period
• the total amount paid out in winnings in an accounting period
• total net pool betting receipts

3.1 In relation to bets, other than bets made in a betting shop, the following must be kept:

• all information received which is relevant in determining whether or not a person is a UK person
• in support of step 1 of the process for determining whether a person is a UK person, each address submitted by or on behalf of the person as being where they usually live, and the date of receipt of the information by the bookmaker
• in support of step 2 of the process for determining whether a person is a UK person, all information used to verify that a person is not a UK person, and evidence that this information has been considered to establish whether or not there are 2 indicators that the person usually lives in the UK

4. The manager or administrator of a Chapter 2 stake fund must keep records of amounts:

• assigned to or otherwise paid into the fund, from whom they’re received and whether or not they’re in respect of amounts paid by a UK person
• paid from or otherwise deducted from the fund and to whom they’re given

5. Records must be retained as follows:

• all records used or created in the course of the bookmaker’s business, or used for the purpose of completing duty returns, must be stored in a readily accessible form and manner for at least 4 years unless one or more of the following exceptions applies
• all papers or other media used to record winning pool bets must be stored in a readily accessible form and manner in daily batches for a period of 6 months after the date when the winnings were paid out, or notified as payments to customer’s accounts
• all papers or other media used to record other pool bets must be stored in a readily accessible form and manner in daily batches for a period of 6 months after the date when the pool bets were made
• all other records, documents and accounts including, but not limited to
  • trading and profit and loss accounts
  • balance sheets and
  • customer and bank statements

used or created in the course of the business, or used for the purpose of completing duty returns, must be stored in a readily accessible form and manner for at least 4 years.

6. Determining the 4 year period

6.1 Documents that record individual events

Records such as invoices should be retained for 4 years from the date of issue, but if they refer to a future event they must be retained for 4 years from that future date.

6.2 Documents that record a summary

Records such as a balance sheet or trading account should be retained for 4 years from the date they’re prepared.

6.3 Documents that record a series of events

• records such as ledgers, daybooks or stock books which are kept in bound books should normally be retained for 4 years from the date of the last entry made in the bound book
• records maintained in loose-leaf binders, on cards and so on, should be retained for 4 years from the date of the last entry on the loose leaf record
• records kept in an electronic format, are to be treated the same way as paper records
• HMRC may in writing agree different periods with individual taxpayers in cases of genuine difficulty

7. Making records available to an Officer of HMRC

7.1 Bookmakers liable to, or likely to become liable to, PBD and those providing facilities for bookmakers to carry out their business must make available to an Officer of HMRC any information or documents which that Officer reasonably requires. The information must be made available at a time and place that the Officer reasonably requires.

7.2 Information will not be considered as having been made available to an Officer of HMRC unless:

• in the case of computerised records and recording systems:

(a) the Officer is provided with access to computer records or systems through a bookmaker’s computer in the UK and sufficient support is made available to the Officer to enable that Officer to navigate the records or systems and a printing facility is provided

(b) the Officer is provided in the UK with data extracts following parameters set by the Officer (for example, date ranges) in hard copy or in a Microsoft Excel compatible format

• in the case of paper-based record keeping, the Officer is provided with access in the UK to paper records
• in the case of a bookmaker who has appointed a fiscal or administrative representative, information or documents reasonably required must be made available through that representative unless agreement is reached with HMRC for some other access arrangement

HMRC will not accept electronic data other than in a Microsoft Excel compatible format.

Each bookmaker registered for PBD has a records requirement attached to that registration. This is clearly stated on the certificate of registration sent to each bookmaker and is as follows:

‘It is a requirement attached to this registration that you make information to support what you tell us on your returns (as listed in the ‘record keeping’ section of Notice 147a) available in the UK to an HMRC Officer on request. If the business does not comply with this requirement, HMRC can require that any Gambling Commission Remote Operating Licence held is revoked.’

11.2 Records held regarding liability before 1 December 2014

Nothing in paragraph 11.1 affects records in respect of liability before 1 December 2014. Such records must be kept in accordance with Excise Notice 147: Pool Betting Duty (pre 1 December 2014).

11.3 Record keeping for a shorter period

If you’ve a problem with record storage, you can ask HMRC for a dispensation to keep some of your records for a period shorter than 4 years.

12. Reviews and appeals

You have the right to ask us for a review, or appeal directly to an independent tax tribunal, on certain decisions we make about your business. Some of these include:

• a person’s liability to an assessed amount of duty
• a person’s liability to pay an assessed amount of duty
• the issue of civil penalties

If you do not agree with a decision, you can:

• ask for it to be reviewed by an HMRC officer not previously involved in the matter
• appeal to an independent tribunal

If you choose to have a decision reviewed you can still appeal to the tribunal after the review has finished.

For more information see Disagree with a tax decision.

Your rights and obligations

Read the HMRC Charter to find out what you can expect from HMRC and what we expect from you.

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