Betting and Gaming Act 1960

The Betting and Gaming Act 1960 was a British Act of Parliament that legalised additional forms of gambling in the United Kingdom. It was passed on 1 September 1960 and came into effect on 1 January 1961.

Provisions

Based on the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Betting, Lotteries and Gaming, 1949–51, the act came into force on 1 January 1961 and first allowed gambling for small sums in games of skill such as bridge. From May 1961 betting shops were allowed to open.
Until 1965 about 16,000 licences were granted by local magistrates.

Commencement, short title and extent

Section 31 of the act provided that the act may be cited as the "Betting and Gaming Act, 1960".
Section 31 of the act provided that the act would not extend to Northern Ireland.
Section 31 of the act provided that the act would come into force on the appointed day.
The ' provided the commencement date for the majority of the act.
The ' provided that section 6 and the consequential repeal of section 1 of the Street Betting Act 1906 by section 29 and part II of the sixth schedule to the act, would come in to force on 1 December 1961.

Aim

The aim of the act was to take gambling off the street and end the practice of runners collecting from punters, a move welcomed by the clergy. Fines would be imposed at a later date on any street gambling.

Consequences

The opening of betting shops affected the greyhound racing industry in the United Kingdom with attendances suffering throughout Britain. From 1961-1969 there were 21 National Greyhound Racing Club registered track closures and many independent track closures. The act is regarded as one of the primary reasons for the decline of greyhound racing with 91 NGRC track closures alone recorded from 1960-2010.