The strict rules of betting in bars

The link between betting and pubs is a long-established one, and it works to the benefit of both in some areas.

I can remember when I moved house in the '70s, a brand-new pub was opened on the corner where one had not stood before. Within weeks, a betting licence application was lodged with the local authority, handled by one of the best-known licensing lawyers in the country at that time. He told me quite simply that it paid to put one near a pub.

So I receive a fair number of questions on the link between the two premises. Right from the start, of course, there was never a chance of having an actual bookie's site in a pub, or vice versa. But among the questions I have been asked is whether it is permissible to have a dispenser on the bar for blank betting slips, which customers can then fill in while they have a drink. Is this filling-in considered to be part of the betting transaction that would make it illegal in the bar?

The legal rule is that no betting transactions may take place except on betting licensed premises or at an authorised track, so the general answer is that the pub and its licensee and employees must stay at arm's length from the actual bet that is being placed.

The blank slips, for example, will only form part of the transaction when they are completed and taken to the betting office with the relevant payment. The bet is accepted there and the winnings, if any, are also paid out on those premises.

The fact that the licensee might put the slips out at the start of business and top up the dispenser does not affect the issue. In fact, it would be perfectly legal for someone from the betting office to check the contents and ensure that it was kept full.

What all licensees must guard against is the pub becoming a sort of satellite of the betting shop, with people being able to place their bets in some way with the bookmaker's agent in the bar, without moving from their cosy seats. Do not let this happen. Agree with the bookmaker the limits that must always be in place.

The customers must in every instance go next door to make their bets, on pain of a prosecution and some very serious consequences for the pub.