Gaming Commision Cracks Down
Private poker clubs have been around in the UK since the game was brought to the country, they were forced underground since 1969 but were never seen as a problem. The game wasn’t very popular, in fact the only real poker game was either 5 or 7 card stud. In the late eighties (when hold’em was gaining popularity) casino’s took matters into their own hands as it was affecting their business, a few spielers were raided and they either moved the game or closed down ( It was still very rare though) due to alcohol licenses more than gaming. With the invention of the internet and the changes in gaming law, games were sprucing up all over the place. Pub poker and private members clubs were hosting poker regularly as the then Gaming Board were finding it hard to keep up with the growth of the “behind the scenes” industry. The industry got so big that some entrepreneurs couldn’t keep it underground anymore, and launched illegal clubs openly.
The Gutshot was one of these, and Derek Kelly spent a couple of years trying to fight for the right to hold poker legally in “Poker Clubs” as the casino’s were not catering fully for the hardened poker player. Unfortunately Kelly lost his battle and the Gutshot had to close its doors. The now newly named Gambling Commision vowed to get tough on poker and issued the can’s and can’ts of hosting poker games. Pubs and Clubs were limited to low stakes, club gaming licenses included poker, and all were set at different limits. They also prohibited/limited the amount a player could be charged to play. It all looked very serious for a while, but it seemed like the GC were all talk, as incidents involving cardrooms/pubs were very few and far between. Some of the bigger clubs found loopholes around the PMC laws and as long as poker wasn’t the main reason of the club, they could play there.
The only place that I know that is advertised as poker only (even though the others hide behind a farce), has been ordered to suspend all poker now. Roy Houghton’s club “The Loose Cannon Club” has been the victim of the start of a crackdown by the Gambling Commision. According to an insider, this is just the start, many more poker clubs will fall in the near future!?
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