UK Government to Encourage Poker in Pubs

Monday, 27 November 2006

The UK government has announced that it will ease restrictions on playing card games, including poker, for real money in bars.
Under reforms which will be introduced next year, any pub will be free to hold poker games for cash.

The UK government has announced that it will ease restrictions on playing card games, including poker, for real money in bars.
Under reforms which will be introduced next year, any pub will be free to hold poker games for cash. At present, only pubs with a special permit from their local council are allowed to do so.
Under the plans, a restriction will be in place upon the amount a player can gamble in one evening, but this hasn’t stopped critics from accusing ministers of playing a dangerous game themselves.
“Gambling and drink together are a heady mix — the more you drink, the less rational you become,” Mark Griffiths, professor of gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University said. “Alcohol is a drug and like any drug it impairs judgment.”
In response to critics, the government’s culture department said the new legislation would protect the vulnerable and keep games fair and crime-free.
In stark contrast to the US, which has effectively banned online gambling, the UK’s Labour government wants to turn Britain into a “world leader” in the field. The Gambling Act 2005 will lift the ban on online gaming businesses being based in the UK from next year.



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