Exempt gaming in clubs and miners' welfare institutes
Where it can take place
You can run games like bingo and poker in the following places:
- members’ clubs - such as working men’s clubs, branches of the Royal British Legion and clubs with political ties
- Commercial clubs - clubs created with the aim of making a profit, such as snooker clubs and gyms or sports facilities, where you'd pay to become a member but have no say in how the club is run.
- miners’ welfare institutes.
You do not need a licence for this kind of gaming.
What you must do
You must make sure:
- the game is played as an equal chance game (essentially all players must have the same chance of winning)
- the gaming is not the main purpose of the club – it can only be an additional activity.
- every player is a member of the club, or, a guest of a member
- children and under 18s do not take part
- total stakes and prizes for the game do not exceed £2,000 in a 7 day period. Otherwise, this will be classed as ‘high turnover’ bingo. If this happens, you’ll need to tell us. If it happens more than once, then you’ll need a licence
- you charge a maximum of £1 in participation fees, per person and per day.
If you’re a commercial club with a club machine permit the participation fee increases to £3 per person per day.
What you can’t do
You can’t:
- deduct from or ‘levy’ on money staked or won by players in the game. It doesn’t matter if the charge is voluntary or compulsory
- run ‘linked’ games with players on other premises. For example, you cannot run a linked game between two branches of the Royal British Legion based in two locations
- play the bingo virtually, or online in any way.
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Exempt gaming in pubs
Last updated: 11 June 2021
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