Essentially betting is ‘tax-free’ in the UK – the professional gambler is outside the scope of tax. This is confirmed in HMRC’s Business Income Manual (BIM), para 22015. The basic position is that betting and gambling, as such, do not constitute trading. This is not a new precedent either. Rowlatt J said in Graham v Green (1925) 9 TC 309: ‘A bet is merely an irrational agreement that one person should pay another person on the happening of an event.’

This decision has stood the test of time. In an Australian case, Evans v FCT(1989) 20 ATC 4540, Hill J said: ‘There has been no decision of a court in Australia nor, so far as I am aware, in the United Kingdom where it has been held that a mere punter was carrying on a business.