VBANDG05300 | Services connected with betting and gaming but not covered by the Group 4 exemption: liability of supplies to casinos etc

The supply of equipment to be used by casinos etc. in their supply of gaming services does not fall within the exemption. A tribunal decision in the case of Annabel’s Casino (MAN/92/1037) found that the supply on hire of a chip sorting machine to the casino was exempt as a supply of the provision of any facilities for the placing of bets or the playing of any games of chance. However, in the High Court this decision was overturned when the judge found that the provision in UK law should be construed so as to accord with Article 13B(f) of the Sixth Directive (now Article 135(1)(i) of the Principal VAT Directive), which was designed to exclude from VAT the supply of ‘gambling’ to the punter and not the supply of equipment to those who use it for making the subsequent supply of gambling.