Poker in public houses
Poker has never been more popular. Poker games are now even televised regularly, and the top players 🧲 have even acquired a certain amount of fame. The games profile has never been higher.
Many pubs around the country advertise 🧲 regular poker nights. In the past this was illegal but the Gambling Act 2005 has changed that. Many rules about 🧲 gambling have changed including a relaxation in the law with regard to playing poker in licensed premises.
As mentioned above it 🧲 is now legal for poker to be played in pubs and clubs, but there are strict restrictions on the way 🧲 that the game can be played, and a number of duties placed upon the licensed premises' Designated Premises Supervisor.
Duties
These include 🧲 ensuring:
That all players are over 18 years of age. This should include: restricting the gaming to premises or parts of 🧲 the premises which are open only to over 18s; strict and detailed ID checks; refusing participation to anyone who is 🧲 apparently under 18 years and who does not have acceptable ID.
No Participation Fees may be charged for entry.
Generally, gaming must 🧲 be ancillary to the rest of the pubs activities. It should not be (or become) the main purpose for which 🧲 people come to the premises.
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Stakes and winnings
The maximum that may be staked per player per game not per 🧲 hand is £5.
The maximum amount of stakes between all the players in a particular premises in any one day (defined 🧲 as 24 hours from 12 noon to 12 noon) is £100. This means that you can only have a maximum 🧲 of twenty players if each stakes the maximum of £5.
The most that can be staked on games of poker in 🧲 a single premises over any seven-day period, between all the players involved, is £500.
The maximum amount that can be won 🧲 in any particular game (not per hand) is £100. This matches the amount of total stakes permitted.
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Responsibilities of 🧲 the Designated Premises Supervisor
The Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) has legal responsibility for ensuring that the rules relating to poker events 🧲 are followed. A breach of the rules constitutes a criminal offence, with potential consequences for the DPS themselves. Prosecution can 🧲 jeopardise both his/her Personal Licence the Premises Licence can be reviewed, and the Local Authority can also prevent the premises 🧲 from holding any future poker evenings.
All gaming must be located so that it can be properly supervised by the Premises' 🧲 staff.
The staff must be properly trained and briefed about the rules and the event, their roles and responsibilities.
There must be 🧲 procedures to prevent under-age gambling.
All payments in respect of the event (ie chips purchased, stakes placed, etc) should be paid 🧲 for in cash before the start of the game. There must be no credit.
All players must be notified of any 🧲 stake limits.
All equipment used (cards, chips, etc) must be supplied by the premises and securely stored when not in use. 🧲 It should be replaced if it is damaged or marked. No player should be allowed to supply their own cards, 🧲 chips, etc.
The rules of the game being played must be displayed or in some other appropriate way made available to 🧲 all players, (eg laminated cards) before and during the game.
The DPS is responsible for ensuring a pleasant atmosphere and preventing 🧲 participation by customers who cheat, issue threats or otherwise create a disturbance or damage equipment provided.
In order that the DPS 🧲 and any Authority carrying out checks can ensure that the various stakes and prize limits are not being broken, the 🧲 DPS must keep a record of: The number of games played; The number of players; and The amount staked.
The DPS 🧲 must take all reasonable steps to ensure that no-one is breaking the stake limits, etc. by side bets, additional raises 🧲 or any other ways of increasing the pot. If the DPS discovers this sort of activity going on, the game 🧲 must be stopped immediately and the stakes returned to individual players.
The Gambling Commission recognises that the above restrictions are very 🧲 difficult in practice for premises and the DPS to comply with. They therefore strongly recommend that cash games are not 🧲 permitted. However, if cash games are allowed, the pot must be kept in sight so that it can be viewed 🧲 by the DPS at all times. It has been suggested that this means that the pot should be kept behind 🧲 the bar!
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Summary
The effect of the new regulations is effectively a relaxation against the general bar on games of 🧲 poker in pubs. However, the act does impose very strict regulations upon the amount to be staked and the responsibilities 🧲 of the management. The rules do not appear to give any leeway for the Designated Premises Supervisor to delegate his 🧲 or her responsibilities for supervising such games, which, if interpreted strictly, means that if the Designated Premises Supervisor is not 🧲 on site, the games cannot take place. Advertising has to be kept low key in order to avoid breaching the 🧲 Gambling Commission’s Code regarding gambling-related advertising and of course poker must not become the main incentive for people to come 🧲 to the premises.
There has been an increasing trend over the last few years for pubs to offer poker despite the 🧲 legal ban. In some cases operators have been prosecuted by the Gambling Commission, but there is a suggestion that in 🧲 many other cases, a blind eye has been turned to Poker events. This is no longer the case and Local 🧲 Authorities and Police Forces have been encouraged to crack down on illegal events.
The Gambling Commission has issued guidance specifically for 🧲 the operators and the users of such premises.
Gambling Commission advice on Gaming in Licensed Premises
See also:
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