Gambling Commission raises issue of private gaming with licensing authorities

The Gambling Commission is on a drive to highlight problems around private gaming with licensing authorities, amid a spate of cases where licensees have misguidedly attempted to use alcohol licensed premises to play high stakes poker.

The watchdog said its Local Authority Liaison Unit had raised the issue with authorities at the same time that the Commission issued revised guidance.

An update has also been sent to owners of clubs, pubs and hotels warning them that hosting poker as private gaming “is not possible without excluding public access”.

The Commission said: “The update reminds licensees that private gaming can only take place in an area which is not accessible by members of the public. It also warns that attempts to use dubious, temporary or impromptu private membership as a front for private gaming risks breaching the law.”

Mike Williams, Head of Regional Enforcement & Compliance at the Gambling Commission, said: “The provisions for private gaming under the Gambling Act 2005 cannot be used by pubs and clubs as a vehicle to bypass the limits on charges, stakes and prizes for poker.

“In short, if the public can get in, then the poker game isn’t private gaming and you are breaking the law.”  

The revised guidance can be found here