Poker club closed after ending appeal over certificate withdrawal by council

A poker club in London has been closed after a two-year operation by the London Borough of Hackney, the Gambling Commission and the Police.

The International Private Members Club had sought to appeal a decision by the council’s licensing sub-committee to withdraw its club premises certificate and cancel the associated gaming permit at a licensing hearing in October 2011.

The club withdrew on the first day of a three-day trial at Thames Magistrates’ Court and agreed to pay Hackney £18,000 in costs.

Under the Gambling Act 2005, Parliament intended that commercial poker should take place in the more regulated environment of casinos. Low stakes poker could meanwhile be played in pubs and clubs, and higher stakes poker in private members’ clubs with club gaming certificates provided that there was no ‘rake’ and that participation fees were kept at minimal levels.

In 2004 the Gutshot Poker Club was opened in Clerkenwell, with the directors claiming that poker – as a game of skill rather than chance – was outside the 2005 Act and its forerunner legislation.

However, this argument was lost when in 2008 the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of director Derek Kelly for the organisation of gaming.

The club subsequently applied for a club gaming certificate from Islington Council but this was refused on the grounds that it was not a private members’ club and had been established mainly for the purposes of gambling.

Shortly afterwards, an application was made in Hackney for a club premises certificate under the Licensing Act 2003. This application claimed that the club would be dedicated to games such as chess, draughts, backgammon, scrabble and pool.

The certificate was granted. This allowed a fast track application under the Gambling Act 2005 for a club gaming certificate, with no consultation of the Gambling Commission. This certificate was also duly granted.

Inspections carried out between 2010 and 2012 showed, however, that the club was overwhelmingly a poker club. Evidence showed that admission could be achieved without membership. Fees and charges were also in excess of the those permitted under the 2005 Act and gambling regulations.

This led Hackney’s licensing sub-committee to withdraw the two certificates and the club to submit an appeal.

Matthew Hill, the Gambling Commission’s Director of Regulatory Risk and Analysis, said: “We welcome this verdict which confirms that the narrow permission allowing members of genuine members’ clubs to play poker cannot be used to justify the provision of what amounts to a commercial poker club.

“This case sends a clear message to club gaming permit holders, who seek to offer poker, that they must operate in accordance with their permit or run the risk of losing it.”

Cllr Sophie Linden, Hackney’s Cabinet Member for Crime, Sustainability and Customer Services said: "This verdict sends a strong message that clubs operating with complete disregard for the law will not be tolerated. The Council takes these breaches seriously and we will investigate and seek to remove their permits and certificates whenever necessary.”

The Gambling Commission issued advice to councils to help distinguish between a members’ club and a commercial club in October 2010. This is available here.

Hackney Council was represented by Philip Kolvin QC of Cornerstone Barristers, instructed by Butta Singh.