International Club closes

International Club closes

Tuesday, 3 July 2012

Popular London venue The International Club has closed. The club released a statement yesterday saying, “After today's hearing with Hackney Council in regards to the club licenses we have to inform you that with immediate effect the club has closed.”

In November 2011 the local council alleged that the venue had been operating as a large scale poker venue. The International listed chess, draughts, backgammon, sudoku, bridge, scrabble and pool in its initial licensing application in 2009 but an investigation by Hackney's licensing enforcement team, in association with local police, accused the venue of principally being a poker venue.


Hackney Council's licensing sub-committee revoked the club’s gaming permit and withdrew its premises certificate. Club chairman Barry Martin told the Hackney Gazette at the time, “We operated for over two years without a word from the council to tell us we shouldn’t be doing what we were doing, we thought everything was ok, we never thought we were on the wrong side of the law.”


A statement from the club released yesterday read, “All of us here at The International would like to thanks each and everyone of its members for the superb support over the last 4 and a bit years..... It's been fun!”


Management hope to have a “party at the end of the month as a send off for the club and all its staff and members” with details to be released shortly.


The Poker Olympics, which were scheduled to take place at the International from 16th to 22nd July will now be held at the Western Club in Acton.



Tags: International Club, live poker, London,