Racing (Miscellaneous) Regulations 2015

Racing (Miscellaneous) Regulations 2015

I, the Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, make the following regulations under the Racing Regulation Act 2004 .

C. WARNER

Governor

By Her Excellency's Command,

JEREMY ROCKLIFF

Minister for Racing

PART 1 - Preliminary

1.   Short title

These regulations may be cited as the Racing (Miscellaneous) Regulations 2015 .

2.   Commencement

These regulations take effect on 1 January 2016.

3.   Interpretation

In these regulations –

Act means the Racing Regulation Act 2004 ;

city area means –

(a) the area within a radius of 12 kilometres of the general post office at Hobart; or

(b) the area within a radius of 12 kilometres from the principal post office at Launceston;

commission means the monthly commission that a registered bookmaker is required to pay to the Director under section 83 of the Act;

GST has the same meaning as in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth;

[Regulation 3 Amended by No. 41 of 2016, s. 27, Applied:17 Oct 2016] guarantor, in relation to a registration bond, means the person who, on applying for registration as a bookmaker or for an on-course telephone betting endorsement, an off-course telephone betting endorsement or an off-course function betting endorsement, gave the Director the registration bond;

registration bond means a bond of indemnity or other form of security given under section 59 or 74 of the Act;

security amount means the amount of the cash, money on fixed deposit, bond, guarantee, government security or other kind of security comprising a registration bond;

surety means a person who goes surety for a guarantor in respect of a registration bond.

PART 2 - Bookmakers

4.   Enforcement of registration bonds

(1)  The following provisions apply to a registration bond:

(a) the registration bond continues in force for –

(i) in the case of a registration bond given under section 59 of the Act, the whole period of the guarantor's registration and the 6-month period immediately following that period of registration; and

(ii) [Regulation 4 Subregulation (1) amended by No. 41 of 2016, s. 28, Applied:17 Oct 2016] in the case of a registration bond given under section 74 of the Act, the whole period of the guarantor's an on-course telephone betting endorsement, an off-course telephone betting endorsement or an off-course function betting endorsement and the 6-month period immediately following the expiration, cancellation, or surrender, of that endorsement;

(b) the Director may enforce the registration bond if the Director is of the opinion that the guarantor has defaulted in the payment of one or more of the following while the bond is in force:

(i) any commission or other money payable by the guarantor to the Director in observance of, or compliance with, the provisions of the Act;

(ii) any money payable by the guarantor in observance of, or compliance with, the provisions of the Act;

(iii) a bet payable by that guarantor;

(c) if the Director decides to enforce the registration bond, the security amount –

(i) is recoverable notwithstanding that it relates to betting; and

(ii) is not to be taken for any purpose to be a penalty but is to be taken to be liquidated damages; and

(iii) is accordingly recoverable in full as a debt due to the Crown unless every condition on which the registration bond is defeasible is shown to have been performed.

(2)  From the sum of the security amount recovered, received or collected under a registration bond, the Director is to –

(a) deduct the costs incurred by or on behalf of the Director in effecting that recovery, receipt or collection; and

(b) apply the balance –

(i) firstly, in paying any commission or other money that is payable to the Director by the guarantor in observance of, or compliance with, the provisions of the Act; and

(ii) secondly, in paying to bettors the amounts that are, in the opinion of the Director, due to them in respect of bets placed with the guarantor.

(3)  If the balance referred to in subregulation (2)(b) is sufficient to meet all of the payments required to be made under subregulation (2)(b)(i) and (ii) , the amount remaining, if any, after all those payments have been made is to be paid to the guarantor or surety from whom the sum was recovered, received or collected.

(4)  If the amount available for the purposes of subregulation (2)(b)(ii) is insufficient to meet all of the payments required to be made to bettors under that subregulation, the Director may make a pro rata distribution among those bettors of the remaining amount available.

5.   Bookmaker partnerships

(1)  Two or more persons may apply to the Director for permission to carry on business as bookmakers in partnership if each applicant is either a registered bookmaker or has applied to be registered as a bookmaker.

(2)  The application under subregulation (1)  –

(a) is to be in an approved form; and

(b) must be supported by such evidence or information as the Director requires.

(3)  The Director may –

(a) approve the application; or

(b) refuse to approve the application.

(4)  If the application is approved, the Director is to give the applicants notice of –

(a) the approval; and

(b) the requirements specified in subregulation (6) .

(5)  If the application is refused, the Director is to give the applicants notice of the refusal, with reasons, and the applicants' right of appeal.

(6)  Persons whose application under subregulation (1) is approved must not commence business in partnership until –

(a) they have lodged a deed of partnership with the Director and had that deed approved by the Director; and

(b) if not all of the applicants were registered bookmakers when the application was lodged, all of them are registered bookmakers.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 25 penalty units and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding 2.5 penalty units for each day during which the offence continues.

(7)  If 2 or more persons have obtained permission to carry on business as bookmakers in partnership pursuant to this regulation but the Director suspends or cancels the bookmaker registration of one or more of those persons, the partnership is, for the purposes of the Act, taken to have been dissolved forthwith.

(8)  A person whose bookmaking partnership is taken to have been dissolved under subregulation (7) because of a suspension of bookmaker registration may nevertheless submit a fresh application under subregulation (1) once the period of suspension expires if they are otherwise eligible to do so.

6.   Calculating unpaid commission following loss, &c., of bookmaking records

If –

(a) a record that a registered bookmaker is required to keep under the Act is lost or destroyed; and

(b) the record is needed to calculate the amount of any commission due to be paid by the registered bookmaker –

the amount of that commission is to be determined by the Director after he or she has made such inquiry on such relevant information as is available.

PART 3 - Miscellaneous

7.   Club registration

(1)  For the purposes of section 40(1A)(c) of the Act, the prescribed number of members is –

(a) in the case of a club that holds, or proposes to hold, race meetings in a city area, 75 members; and

(b) for any other club, 20 members.

(2)  For the purposes of section 40(1A)(d) of the Act, the prescribed amount for the aggregate annual membership subscription is –

(a) in the case of a club that holds, or proposes to hold, race meetings in a city area, $200; and

(b) for any other club, $20.

(3)  For the purposes of section 40(1A)(e) of the Act, the prescribed conditions for a racecourse are –

(a) the track of the racecourse is suitable for the kind of racing proposed to be held at the racecourse by the club; and

(b) the racecourse has sufficient suitable infrastructure and facilities to enable that kind of racing to be held efficiently and safely; and

(c) the racecourse has adequate seating, sanitation and refreshment facilities in relation to its crowd-carrying capacity; and

(d) in the case of a horse racing club, the racecourse has adequate first aid, medical evacuation and related facilities in case of injury to jockeys, riders or drivers; and

(e) the racecourse has adequate veterinary facilities in case of injury to horses or greyhounds; and

(f) neither the club holding racing at the racecourse, nor any other person, is in contravention of a law relating to fire safety, electricity safety, or gas safety, in relation to the racecourse.

8.   Prescribed bodies

For the purpose of the definition of racing industry association in section 3 of the Act, the following bodies are prescribed:

(a) Australian Trainers Association (Tasmanian Branch);

(b) Tasmanian Racehorse Owners Association;

(c) TasBreeders;

(d) Tasmanian Jockeys Association;

(e) Light Harness Tasmania;

(f) North Western Tasmania Light Harness Association;

(g) Northern Tasmanian Light Harness Association;

(h) Breeders, Owners, Trainers and Reinspersons Association Tasmania;

(i) Greyhound Owners, Trainers and Breeders Association of Tasmania.

9.   Prescribed fees

The fees specified in Schedule 1 are –

(a) prescribed as the fees that are payable under the Act and these regulations for the matters to which they respectively relate; and

(b) exempt from GST.

10.   Prescribed deposits

The deposits specified in Schedule 2 are –

(a) prescribed as the deposits that are payable under the Act for the matters to which they respectively relate; and

(b) exempt from GST.

SCHEDULE 1 - Prescribed fees

Regulation 9

SCHEDULE 2 - Prescribed deposits

Regulation 10

Displayed and numbered in accordance with the Rules Publication Act 1953.

Notified in the Gazette on 30 December 2015

These regulations are administered in the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment.