Trade body calls for immunity from competition prosecution in Northern Ireland

Games of chance linked to purchases were previously illegal but are now permitted in Scotland, England and Wales under the Act.

The Act was designed to be extended to Northern Ireland by an Order-In-Council, the ISP said, but this did not happen. Northern Ireland's gambling is still regulated by the older Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order of 1985.

That law, it said, is basically the same as the law in the rest of the UK before the new Act came into force. That law was the reason that many competitions and offers were available without any purchase being necessary. The new law allows entry to be purchase-dependent, as long as it is at the 'normal' selling price.

The OUT-LAW.COM guide to running a competition under the new Act says:

The Gambling Act 2005 states that 'payment' includes paying money (or money's worth) or paying more for something to reflect the opportunity to enter the competition. So someone who buys a packet of soap powder which directs buyers to a website competition will be treated as paying to enter that competition if the soap powder costs more than an equivalent non-promotional packet. However if promotional and non-promotional packs cost the same, there will be no payment. It will therefore no longer be necessary to specify a "no purchase necessary" alternative route where a product giving a right to enter a competition is sold at its normal price.

Promotional games of chance linked to purchases, therefore, cannot be undertaken in Northern Ireland, and the ISP has asked Director of Public Prosecutions in Northern Ireland to ensure that the companies behind UK promotions are not liable to prosecution for such games.

"In its letter to [Northern Ireland DPP] Sir Alasdair Fraser, Philip Circus, the ISP’s Legal Affairs Director, makes the point that the failure to extend the Act to Northern Ireland is undermining the ability of British companies to promote in Northern Ireland as well as being bad news for Northern Ireland consumers who are being increasingly excluded from U.K. promotions," said the ISP in a statement.

"It is absurd that promotions which are legal in Great Britain can result in a prosecution in Northern Ireland," said Circus.