Midland Lawyer Galloped To The Rescue Of Royal Ascot Day
Published June 2009
A Midland lawyer galloped to the rescue of a charity Royal Ascot day last week, which had been threatened by confusion over the interpretation of certain provisions of the Gambling Act.
His intervention could prove vital to charities and other organisations aiming to hold similar events across the country.
The Royal Ascot Day at Worcester Rugby Club on Friday featured live TV coverage of Royal Ascot with guests betting on the races as they happened.
However, Wychavon District Council said originally it could not allow the event as the rugby club did not qualify as a suitable venue for the use of an Occasional Use Notice (OUN) under the Gambling Act.
It argued that the punters should be at the same location as the races, not at a remote site.
Alexander Hall of MFG Solicitors was asked to investigate and he obtained new guidance from the Gambling Commission that ruled events at venues that are usually unlicensed for gambling could go ahead following the service of an OUN.
Mr Hall, a solicitor in MFG’s corporate department said: “There has been confusion on the interpretation of certain provisions of the Gambling Act 2005 throughout the country. The organisers of many events for charity have been told that events that had previously been held under an OUN would have to be called off or are under threat.
“So we made an urgent request for guidance on the interpretation of the Act to the Gambling Commission.
“This interpretation was passed on to Wychavon District Council, the local licensing authority, which allowed the event to go ahead.
“Charities benefit from these occasions because the paying guests gather at a football or rugby stadium – or a marquee on a cricket ground – to watch the event on a big screen. They bet with a third-party licensed bookmaker who is at the location.
“Events like this have been held at unlicensed stadiums in the past through an Occasional Use Notice, which exempts them from the need for a full premises gambling licence.
“However, the use of an OUN recently became the subject of debate and some local licensing authorities took the view that an OUN was not valid at remote locations unlicensed for gambling.
“They restricted OUNs to horse and dog-racing tracks, taking the view that the sporting event on which the guests were betting had to be held at the premises in question – rather than at a remote location.
“These views went beyond the wording of the Act itself, although this is a grey area and it is the view of many legal experts that certain provisions in the Act are poorly drafted.
“The Gambling Commission has now ruled that an OUN can be appropriate in these circumstances.
“However, the guidance has not yet been widely disseminated to authorities and not all event organisers have taken legal advice or challenged authorities who are refusing to accept that the use of an OUN would be valid.”
Mr Hall said the organisers of threatened events should consider obtaining professional help with a view to challenging such refusals before it was too late. Licensed bookmakers due to assist at such events should also check to ensure they will be acting within the conditions of their licence.
Guests of the charity Wooden Spoon, St Richard’s Hospice, plus Worcestershire Ambassadors and Worcester Warriors, wore traditional Ascot costume at the Sixways stadium as they watched the Coronation Stakes, the world’s most prestigious race for three-year-old fillies.
Louise Hewett, chairman of Worcestershire Ambassadors, said: “MFG Solicitors did a fantastic job in getting the licensing authority to change its mind.”
