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Where can I organise or play poker?
Outside a casino, you can organise poker games and
play poker 🧲 in many different settings. However, the rules are different depending on
where you play.
Poker at home
Playing games of poker in 🧲 your own home, between friends
and on a non-commercial basis, is legal. However: the rest of the participants must be
🧲 your legitimate guests or friends
you cannot invite members of the public to join
in
you cannot ask people to pay a 🧲 fee, separate from the stake, to take part. There is
no limit on the stakes and prizes when playing poker 🧲 at home.
Poker at work?
You can
organise poker games or play poker in the workplace as long as
that there is no 🧲 charge
for participation (excluding stakes)
the public do not have access to the venue. There
are no limits on the stakes 🧲 you can play or the prizes you can win, when playing poker
at work with colleagues.
Poker for Charity
You do not 🧲 need a licence, permit or any
other form of permission to run what is called non-commercial equal chance gaming, for
🧲 example, a poker night organised to raise money for charity. The players must be told
what good cause is to 🧲 benefit from the profits of the gaming. Under 16s are not allowed
to participate.
In respect of all games played at 🧲 an event the aggregate amount or
value of prizes and awards distributed in respect of those games shall not exceed 🧲 £600.
Where a series of events is held the amount or value of prizes and awards distributed
in respect of 🧲 those games shall not exceed £900.
No matter how many games you run or a
participant expects to play in, they 🧲 must not make more than one payment (whether as an
admission or participation fee, stake or other charge, or a 🧲 combination of those
charges), and this payment must not exceed £8.
Poker in Casinos
In Great Britain, you
can play poker in 🧲 casinos licensed by the Gambling Commission. However, poker played as
a casino game could mean that you have lower gambling 🧲 odds than if you play poker as a
game of equal chance. (Equal-chance gaming does not involve playing or staking 🧲 money
against a bank (or dealer) and the chances of winning are equally favourable to all
participants)
Casinos can also run 🧲 poker tournaments at temporary venues, for a limited
amount of time, under temporary use notices (TUNs).
Online Poker
Poker can be played
🧲 online with unlimited stakes. Before starting to gamble, you should ensure that you
know some basic details about the company. 🧲 For example, where are they licensed and how
you can contact them. Some legal gambling sites can be found in 🧲 New Zealand so for
example onlinecasinonewzealand NZ brings you a list of the best casino sites.
You may
need licensing details 🧲 if you have any queries on its gambling products before you
decide whether to gamble. There should be clear information 🧲 about how to make a
complaint against the gambling company and how your complaint will be dealt with. In
the 🧲 event that you make a complaint and are not happy with the outcome it should be
clear what further steps 🧲 you can take. Operators licensed by the Commission are
required to ensure that a complaint is referred to an independent 🧲 body if you are not
satisfied with how it has been handled. The Commission monitors companies to ensure
complaints are 🧲 dealt with appropriately and looks for trends which indicate where
licensees might not be doing what they should. Safe places 🧲 to play online poker.
Poker
in a Pub (Public House)
You can organise poker games and play poker in a pub. However,
🧲 there are strict conditions on any gaming including limits on stakes and prizes.
Licensing authorities can take action against individuals 🧲 whose premises do not comply
with these conditions. Poker can be played in pubs but there are limits to the 🧲 stakes
and prizes that can be played for.
Stakes and prizes
There is a maximum value to both
the amount that can 🧲 be staked and the prize that can be offered when playing poker in a
pub.
The maximum stake per player is 🧲 £5 per game, and the combined stakes for your
premises should not exceed £100 per day.
The maximum prize is £100 🧲 per game. This
maximum includes money, payments in-kind, vouchers, goods, donated items, goodybags,
buy-ins at other poker tournaments and other 🧲 items which have a value.
Additionally,
you cannot charge a participation fee, including for example by having entrants pay a
compulsory 🧲 charge for a meal.
Poker in a Club (Private Members Club)
Poker can be
played in clubs as long as it takes 🧲 account of the conditions that apply to gaming in
clubs, including limits on stakes and prizes.
The maximum stake per player 🧲 is £10 per
game, and the combined stakes for your premises must not exceed £250 per day and £1,000
per 🧲 week.
The maximum prize is £250 per game.
A maximum participation fee of £1 per
person per day can be charged by 🧲 a members club, with or without a club machine
permit. A commercial club with a club machine permit can charge 🧲 £3 per person per day,
but only £1 otherwise.
Private Cash Poker
Private Cash Poker (as opposed to
tournaments) is allowed but 🧲 Gaming is only private if it occurs in a place to which the
public does not have access (normally a 🧲 private dwelling, hostel, hall of residnece or
similar establishment). No charge may be made for participation in private gaming (and
🧲 this includes an entrance fee or other charge for admission), nor may any amounts be
deducted from stakes or prizes. 🧲 No profits can be made from private gaming,
irrespective of how the organiser intends to use those profits.
Private gaming can
🧲 potentially take place on commercial premises in circumstances where a members club
hires a room in, for example, a pub 🧲 or hotel for a private function where equal chance
gaming only is played. However, organisers would need to scrutinise very 🧲 carefully the
arrangements put in place to make sure that the particular area of the pub, hotel or
other venue 🧲 in which the gaming takes place is not, on the occasion of the private
function, a place to which the 🧲 public have access and that those participating are not
selected by a process which means that, in fact, they are 🧲 members of the public rather
than members of the club. The law in this area is complex and organisers are 🧲 strongly
advised to seek their own legal advice before organising events of this nature.
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