Racing and Wagering Act 2024

The purposes of this Act are as follows:

(a) to promote probity, integrity and fairness in the racing and wagering industries and among its participants;

(b) to establish a fair and efficient system of governance over the racing and wagering industries that:

(d) to protect the public from adverse impacts of unsafe wagering, through consumer protection and harm minimisation measures;

(e) to provide a fair and efficient mechanism for the resolution of complaints arising from racing or wagering.

In this Act:

appeal means an appeal under Part 3, Division 7.

appeals committee means the committee established by a race control body under section 88(1).

approved form means a form approved under section 43.

associate, see section 6.

betting exchange means a business that enables customers, through the business, to:

(b) make wagers that may be matched with opposing wagers from other persons; or

(c) transmit wagers to other persons for matching with opposing wagers.

betting exchange licence, see section 121.

betting exchange licensee means a person who holds a betting exchange licence.

Chair means:

(a) in relation to the Commission – the Chair appointed under section 18(1); and

(b) in relation to the Tribunal – the Chair appointed under section 95(1).

child means a person under 18 years of age.

Commission means the Northern Territory Wagering Commission established by section 14(1).

committee, of a race club, means the governing body of the club.

complaint means a complaint made under section 220.

contempt, see section 5.

control body, in relation to the approval to use sports information, means:

(b) for a sporting event in the Territory – the body or entity authorised by the Commission under section 170(5) for the event; and

(c) for a race or sporting event in another Territory or a State – the body or entity governing the race or event.

decision notice, for a decision or action, means a written notice setting out:

(b) any right the person to whom the notice is to be given has under this Act to apply for a review of, or to appeal, the decision or action.

Director means the Director of Racing and Wagering appointed under section 29.

disciplinary action means disciplinary action mentioned in section 228(1) or (2).

eligible body corporate, see section 46A(1).

fit and proper person, see section 7.

foreign ADI means a foreign authorised deposit-taking institution as defined in section 5(1) of the Banking Act 1959 (Cth).

greyhound racing means the racing of greyhounds and a meeting for the purpose of conducting a greyhound race.

greyhound racing club means a body corporate that conducts greyhound racing.

harness racing means harness racing, pacing and a meeting for the purpose of conducting harness racing races.

harness racing club means a body corporate that conducts harness racing.

inspector means an inspector appointed under section 32(1).

key person licence, see section 123.

lawful wager means a wager presumed to be lawful under section 160.

licence means a licence issued under this Act, other than a racecourse licence.

licensee means a person who holds a licence.

on-course bookmaker licence, see section 119.

on-course bookmaker licensee means a person who holds an on‑course bookmaker licence.

place includes the following:

(b) a building, structure or erection of any kind, whether wholly or partly constructed or erected or in the course of construction or erection;

(c) a room in a building, structure or erection referred to in paragraph (b);

property includes real and personal property, whether situated in the Territory or elsewhere, and any right, estate or interest in real and personal property, including a debt and thing in action.

public place means the following:

(a) any place to which free access is permitted to the public, with the express or tacit consent of the owner or occupier;

(b) any place to which the public are admitted on payment of money only;

(c) any road, street, footway, court, alley or thoroughfare which the public are allowed to use, whether or not it is on private property;

race, see section 8.

race club means the following:

race control body means a race control body appointed under section 46.

racecourse means a place for the holding of race meetings or trials.

racecourse licence means a licence to operate premises as a racecourse issued under section 56.

race meeting means a meeting for the purpose of:

(b) wagering on thoroughbred racing, harness racing or greyhound racing.

racing means thoroughbred racing, harness racing or greyhound racing.

Racing and Wagering Fund means the fund established by section 150(1).

racing rules means the following rules established or adopted under section 51:

Rules of Greyhound Racing means the rules applicable to greyhound racing established or adopted under section 51.

Rules of Harness Racing means the rules applicable to harness racing established or adopted under section 51.

Rules of Thoroughbred Racing means the rules applicable to thoroughbred racing established or adopted under section 51.

Secretary of the Tribunal means the person appointed by the Director under section 98(1).

sporting event means an event, whether of a sporting nature or not, declared to be a sporting event under section 167(1).

sports bookmaker licence, see section 122.

sports bookmaker licensee means a person who holds a sports bookmaker licence.

sports information, see section 169.

terms and conditions of wagering means the terms and conditions required under section 180.

thoroughbred racing means the racing of thoroughbred horses and a meeting for the purpose of conducting the racing of thoroughbred horses.

thoroughbred racing club means a body corporate that conducts thoroughbred racing.

trial means an event held for the purpose of testing or training horses or greyhounds for which no prize money, trophy or other reward, gratuity or privilege of more than a nominal value is offered.

Tribunal means the Northern Territory Racing Appeals Tribunal established by section 90(1).

unlawful wager means a wager that is unlawful under section 199.

valuable thing includes a benefit or a promise, oral or in writing, conditional or absolute, to pay or give a valuable thing.

wagering, see section 9.

wagering control system, see section 163.

wagering licensee means any of the following:

(a) an on-course bookmaker licensee, betting exchange licensee or sports bookmaker licensee;

Note for section 4

The Interpretation Act 1978 contains definitions and other provisions that may be relevant to this Act.

For this Act, the following conduct constitutes contempt of the Commission, the Tribunal or a panel of the Tribunal:

(ii) one of the members of the Commission or Tribunal or the Secretary of the Tribunal, in relation to the performance of their functions or the exercise of their powers under this Act;

(e) creating, or taking part in creating, a disturbance at or near the place where it is sitting;

(f) engaging in any other conduct that, under a law of the Territory, would constitute contempt in the face of a court if it were a court of record.

(1) For this Act, a person is taken to be an associate of another person in the following circumstances:

(i) the person holds or will hold a financial interest in the business of the other person that allows the person to exercise a significant influence over the business of the other person; or

(ii) the person is or will be entitled to exercise a power (whether in right of the person or on behalf of any other person) in the management or operation of the business of the other person that allows the person to exercise a significant influence over the business of the other person;

(b) if the other person is an individual – the person is a relative of the other person;

(c) in any case – the person holds or will hold a significant position in the business of the other person.

(2) For this section, the Commission may determine whether an influence or a position is significant in the circumstances.

financial interest, in relation to a business, means:

(c) any entitlement to receive any money or valuable thing as a result of money advanced to the business.

power, in relation to a business, means any power, whether exercisable by voting or otherwise and whether exercisable alone or in association with others to:

(a) participate in any directorial, managerial, or executive decision of the business; or

(b) elect or appoint any person to a significant position in the business.

relative, in relation to an individual, means:

(c) a parent, child, or sibling of the spouse or de facto partner of the person.

significant position, in relation to a business, means:

(b) a managerial position or managerial function in the business, if that position or function has a significant influence over the business; or

(c) any position or function determined by the Commission to be of significant influence over the business.

(1) A person is not a fit and proper person if the person, within the previous 10 years, was found guilty of an offence against any of the following:

(2) In determining whether or not a person is a fit and proper person under this Act, the Minister, the Commission and the Director:

(a) must have regard to subsection (1) and any other matters prescribed by regulation; and

(3) Despite being found guilty of an offence against any of the laws specified in subsection (1), a person may be determined by the Minister, the Commission or the Director to be a fit and proper person under this Act, if the Minister, the Commission or the Director considers the circumstances relating to the matter justify it.

(1) A race is a contest, event or contingency in which 2 or more horses, horses in harness or greyhounds are drawn to compete, one against the other or others, in a test of speed over a designated distance or period or for the purpose of providing a contingency on which wagers may be made.

(b) a contest, event or contingency in which skills other than speed alone are tested.

For this Act, wagering includes the following conduct: