Pub poker nights: Beware the legal pitfalls

There are now a number of businesses that provide the equipment, infrastructure and know-how to operate exempt low stake and low-prize gaming within the confines of the Gambling Act 2005.

Under the exempt gaming regulations you can have poker in your pub as long as you have an on-licence that contains a bar and the poker is played at a time when alcohol can be supplied. The maximum stake per person per game is £5, the maximum aggregate stakes per premises per day £100 and there is a maximum prize of £100. You cannot deduct, rake or levy any amount from the pot, there can be no participation fee, no linking to other premises and you must exclude under-18s from participation. The limits must be strictly adhered to.

Exempt gaming, within the limits, is how the Government envisaged poker would be played within pubs.

There are, however, operators who wish to exceed the low stake and low-prize limit within exempt gaming, by arguing that poker is played in pubs as private gaming under the Gambling Act 2005​.

You should be wary of any approach to play this type of gaming within your pub. Private gaming was envisaged to allow you or I to play poker at home or privately.

The rules on private gaming are relatively simple. There can be no charge for participation, whatsoever, and it must not occur in a place to which the public have access, whether or not this is by payment. If the licensee invites his friends — and I do mean his friends — into a back room for a game of poker, which is played as friends, with no charge (which includes no rake or levy from the pot) then this should be fine.

The appeal is that private gaming has no limit on stake or prize and there are operators who have sought to play private gaming and benefit commercially. This is simply not possible. We have experienced cash pots advertised up to £3,000, however, in these cases there was a 5% rake.

Any rake is a payment that takes the game outside private gaming and makes it illegal, punishable by a fine, imprisonment or, more realistically, a review of the alcohol licence. If players must buy food or a pint to play then they are paying a participation fee. If they offer a voluntary contribution, say £10 for facilities, they may also be paying a participation fee, making the game illegal.

There must be no access to the gaming by the public. Signing up on a website to give access would not be sufficient. There is case law that defines the requirement for a selection process and rules that allow participation. For instance, genuine friends of the licensee can play because they are genuine friends. Any Tom, Dick or Harry who walked into the pub should not be able to play, otherwise the gaming would be open to the public and illegal. This would be the case even if they signed up to a website and agreed to a set of terms and conditions.

If you are approached by a poker operator then we suggest you steer away from private gaming and ensure that any poker played in your pub strictly follows the exempt gaming limits.