Licensing@aol.com - Legal expert Peter Coulson

Audience joining in

QA colleague has told me that under the new Guidance, activities that involve participation by the audience do not need a licence. Is this right and would it apply, for example, to a talent or beauty contest or other features run by a DJ?

AHalf the truth is a dangerous commodity. As far as the current law is concerned, you must look at the entertainment as a whole before coming to a decision on whether it is a licensable activity or not.

Entertainment is now covered by the new Licensing Act. The question of an audience is relevant to whether something needs to be licensed, but in terms of participation, your friend may have been thinking about activities like darts, or pool, or a juke box.

It is clear from comments in decided cases that if one section of the audience entertains another, this amounts to public entertainment, so talent contests and competitions of the kind you suggest, if they involve some element of music or dancing, would certainly be caught by the new Act.

In my experience, most entertainment shows put on in pubs (other than events such as quiz nights, which do not require a licence) involve some form of musical entertainment. In your own examples, it is likely that there will be music played by a DJ or compere, and possibly some dancing as well, either by contestants or the audience.

Gone are the days when a DJ simply announced the records and put them on a turntable — there has to be a complete entertainment package to satisfy young customers now.

The previous exemption for pubs with two performers or fewer has gone, so even if it is just one DJ and an audience, entertainment involving both live performers and recorded sound requires the premises licence to cover it. So I think you should play safe and apply to the district council, before they send an inspector round.

Using their own cards

QWe have had a number of people, mainly students, bringing their own cards to play pontoon and whist in the pub. Often a small amount of money changes hands. When I challenged them, they said it was private because they were using their own cards. Is this right?

AGaming on licensed premises is covered by the terms of the Gaming Act 1968. There is specific reference to premises holding a justices' licence in Part I of the Act, which exempts certain games from the general prohibition on gaming "in any place to which the public have access".

There are two named games that are specifically allowed to be played on licensed premises. These are dominoes and cribbage. Other games of chance would require the prior consent of the licensing authority before they could lawfully be played for money. This applies just as much to spontaneous playing by customers as to games organised or provided by the licensee.

Any game played that is not "gaming" in the legal sense is not covered by this section. For example, games of skill such as darts, pool or shove ha'penny may be played without restriction and will not require authorisation from the council, even if persons bet with each other on their own skill.

But other card games that are played for stakes may well come within the terms of section 6 of the Act. Pontoon is prohibited on licensed premises, by virtue of section 6(7), because it involves playing or staking against a bank, which is outlawed by section 2 of the Act. Indeed, all banker's games would be vetoed in a pub. You should not allow it.