Poker in pubs – rules on private gaming

The law on gambling is covered by the Gambling Act 2005. Under the legislation, gambling includes gaming, betting or participating in a lottery. In this guide we look at gambling in pubs, particularly poker and gaming machines.

The definition of gaming is wide and will also include gaming machines and poker. Sports such as darts are excluded from the definition.

Poker in pubs

It is important that anyone wishing to stage a poker game in licensed premises knows what is and is not legal.

The Gambling Act 2005 allows equal chance gaming (including poker) in licensed premises without the need to apply for a licence but subject to certain statutory restrictions. The Act applies to premises which have a bar and where there is no requirement that alcohol is only served with food.

Restrictions on Gaming

Poker can be played in pubs but the following statutory conditions apply:

• Fixed limit of £5 stake per person per game;
• Maximum daily stake or prizes £100;
• Maximum weekly stake or prizes £500;
• Prohibition on any levy or deductions from stakes or prizes;
• Prohibition on linking games between premises;
• No participation fee may be charged;
• Children and young persons (under 18 years of age) must be excluded.

Sanctions for breach

If you breach the statutory conditions, you may lose your entitlement to offer gaming. The exemption permitting equal chance gaming in a pub can be removed by the licensing authority where gaming has been carried out in breach of the requirements. The most likely sanction for breaching these provisions therefore is a review of your premises licence. You will also commit an offence and would be liable on conviction to up to 51 weeks imprisonment and or a fine of up to £5,000.

Private gaming

Under the Act poker can be played without a licence or the statutory requirements above applying but only in very limited circumstances. For example, the Act permits ‘private’ gaming. The Gambling Commission classifies this as ‘anywhere to which the public do not have access’.

Some pubs have allowed high stakes poker to be played in a room hired by a group of friends or a ‘member’s club’ – and claimed that this is private gaming and therefore not subject to the statutory restrictions set out above.

The Gambling Commission has recently warned pubs and clubs not to try to claim private gaming is taking place as a way of trying to avoid the statutory limits on stakes, prizes and fees applying.

For poker to be private gaming

• It must take place in an area which is not accessible to the public, normally a private dwelling, hostel, hall of residence etc. Private gaming can potentially take place in the function room of a hotel or pub if hired by a member’s club as long as access is not available to the public. However, it must be a genuine member’s club – issuing temporary membership is not likely to get around the problem. In The Gambling Commission’s view acquiring membership to take part in a “private” event or acquiring membership shortly before an event is unlikely to mean that these individuals are not members of the public (Membership status is not allowed to be used to circumvent the law).
• No charge may be made for participation even a voluntary one. There may be no entrance fee or other charge e.g. a requirement to buy a drink from the bar in order to be allowed to play;
• No amounts may be deducted from stakes or prizes as this is regarded as a charge for participation;
• No profits may be made.

NB The Gambling Commission has recently warned pubs and clubs not to try to claim private gaming is taking place as a way of trying to avoid the statutory limits on stakes, prizes and fees applying.

See Gambling Commission guidance on private gaming here.

See Gambling Commission guide to Poker in Pubs here.

Poker Leagues and tournaments

A pub may host a poker league or tournament provided that it is not linked gaming. You should not host a tournament where players compete against players in other premises for a prize as this is also likely to be linked gaming and unlawful.

Prizes

The maximum prize that can be won in any game of pub poker is £100.

Anything that has value is classed as cash. It is the realistic value of the prize offered that is taken into account. A prize such as a “goodie” bag would have value and is therefore subject to the £100 prize limit. Prizes which have been donated are also considered money’s worth as are buy-ins to a bigger tournament or the chance to fly abroad to say Las Vegas to play.

In some leagues, a prize is offered after each game rather than a final prize. In others, points are awarded and then a prize is given at the end of the series of games.

The Gambling Commission says that where there is a prize with monetary value offered at the end of a series of games, this is likely to constitute gaming particularly towards the end of the competition. The prize must not therefore exceed the maximum permitted prize otherwise it will be unlawful gaming.

Examples

In a tournament with no single final game, the Commission’s view is that it is the individual games played by the overall winner which should be looked at. If the winner played 3 games and won £100, £70 and £60 respectively, then the maximum sum available as a prize at the end is £70. This is because the total prize money available is £300 (because he played 3 games) less £230 which he has already won in the previous 3 rounds.

In a tournament where a player is only awarded points in each of the 3 games he played and then wins an overall prize based on points then the maximum prize available would be £300. This is because the available prize money is £100 for each game the winner played – it does not matter whether he won all 3 games or not, it is the number of games that he played that counts. It is also important to note that the total stakes and prizes for the game do not exceed £2,000 in a 7-day period. Otherwise, this will be classified as ‘high turnover’ bingo, and you would need to report this to the Commission.

If prizes are donated as well as monetary prizes being given, then the total prize must remain within the limits for prizes. For example, a winner is to be given the pot and a donated prize of a bottle of wine. If the pot available is £70, then the value of any donated prize he receives must not exceed £30.

Linked Games

The Gambling Act prohibits gaming in pubs being linked to gaming in any other premises. For example, if you host a league and the prize competed for is the opportunity to play in an “invitational” cash tournament held in a casino then this is likely to be unlawful because it is linked gaming. 

Gambling Commission Code of Practice
The Gambling Commission has published a code of practice for equal chance gaming (including poker) in clubs and premises with an alcohol licence. The Code has no legal force but is admissible in criminal proceedings and is taken into account by the Commission and in other tribunal proceedings. If you intend to host poker games in your pub you should be familiar with this Code of practice.

In a pub compliance with the Code is the responsibility of the Designated Premises Supervisor who is known as the Gaming Supervisor. The Code includes the following:

• all playing cards and other equipment to be provided by the premises;
• requirement for a procedure to prevent under age gambling;
• requirement to keep records of stakes and winnings;
• games organised by management should be played with poker chips not cash;
• for management organised games rules should be displayed or available;
• a duty to exclude customers who breach statutory conditions.

The Code of Practice can be found here.

Practical advice

The code imposes a lot of additional responsibility on one individual, the Gaming Supervisor. In practice it may be difficult to comply with some of the Code’s recommendations. However, we advise that the Gaming Supervisor introduces a policy for supervising gaming, including preventing underage gaming and that members of staff are aware of their role in this. There should be a known procedure for record keeping and if the Gaming Supervisor becomes aware that limits have been exceeded then he should stop the game and refund all stakes.

A failure to adhere to the provisions of the Code will not render the designated premises supervisor liable to prosecution but it may lead to the local authority removing the exemption allowing gaming and could potentially lead to a review of the premises licence.

Gaming Machines

A gaming machine is defined as “a machine which is designed or adapted for use by individuals to gamble (whether or not it can also be used for other purposes)”. The definition is very broad and covers all forms of gambling (i.e. betting, gaming and participation in a lottery).

There are 4 categories of gaming machine with varying limits on prizes and stakes. A licensed premises is entitled to have 2 category C or D machines (see below) if you:

• Have an on license
• Are operative
• Have notified the licensing authority
• Paid the required fee

Category of machine	Max stake (from April 2019)	Max prize (from Jan 2014)
C	£1	£100
D – non money prize	30p	£8
D – non money prize (crane grab machines only)	£1	£50
D – money prize	10p	£5
D – combined money and non money prize	10p	£8 (of which no more than £5 may be a money prize)
D - combined money and non money prize (coin pusher or penny falls machines only)	20p	£20 (of which no more than £10 may be a money prize)

Code of Practice

The Gambling Commission Code of Practice for Gaming machines in clubs and premises with an alcohol licence can be found here. The Code sets out conditions of permits, provisions relevant to gambling by children and best practice.

Location

It is a condition of the continued automatic entitlement to 2 machines that you comply with the conditions of the Code in relation to the location of those machines on your premises. This requires that:

• Machines are located so that their use can be supervised, either by staff whose duties include such supervision (including bar or floor staff) or by other means. Obviously supervising staff should be over 18 themselves.
• If you also have an ATM machine, then your gaming machine must be situated so that a customer has to cease gambling at the machine in order to use the ATM.

Protection of Children

Children (i.e. those under 18) can play Category D, but not Category C machines, and it is the responsibility of the permit holder to ensure that this does not happen. You should therefore not locate a Category C machine next to a Category D machine as this would effectively give a child access to a machine that they are not allowed to play on.

The Code sets out best practice recommendations in relation to children although this is not a condition of the permit. The Code states that you should put in place procedures to prevent underage gambling. This includes age checks on customers who appear to be underage, and if they cannot provide ID, refusing to allow them to use a category C machine.

With regards to ID, this should only be accepted if it is valid, contains a photograph from which the individual can be identified, states their date of birth and is legible and has no visible signs of tampering or reproduction. Acceptable forms of ID would be that bearing the PASS logo, a driving licence or passport.

It is important that you have a policy which sets out how you deal with supervision of machines and age checks. Staff must also be trained so that they understand the policy and their responsibility to prevent underage gambling. You should also have in place procedures for dealing with a child who persistently tries to use a Category C machine including giving oral warnings, reporting him/her to the police and Gambling Commission and making information available on problem gambling.

The Code also recommends that you have in place a policy for dealing with customer complaints and disputes regarding the use of gaming machines on your premises.

For more information on licensing, please contact Lisa Gilligan.