Background
From 1978 operators who ran “Spot the Ball” competitions were regulated and taxed as if they ran competitions for which entrants paid a fee and in which there were winning entrants who were awarded prizes. In March 2009 the operators said that they were in fact offering “games of chance” in which players put up money and were sometimes lucky enough to win. The distinction is important for the purposes of VAT.
This is the latest ruling in the long
