UK POKER INDUSTRY LAUNCHES TRADE ASSOCIATION
TO CHAMPION CAUSE OF RECREATIONAL POKER PLAYERS
UKPCA to fight for the reclassification of poker as a prescribed game
20 April 2007: The UK’s first trade association for the poker club industry has been launched today by 13 of the UK’s leading poker clubs. The United Kingdom Poker Clubs Association (UKPCA) will help poker players and private members’ poker clubs, who are concerned about the impact of the 2005 Gambling Act on the poker club industry. The UKPCA intends to campaign for the reclassification of poker as a “prescribed” game, like the games bridge and whist.
Key Points:
• UKPCA to champion cause of recreational poker players
• Gambling Act does not yet recognise poker as a prescribed game
• Poker is predominantly a game of skill
• Current exclusion of poker, while favouring bridge and whist as prescribed games, is unfounded
• The Gambling Act could lead to the closure of private members’ poker clubs, driving the UK’s two million poker players into casinos or ‘underground’
The UKPCA (
www.ukpca.co.uk) represents over 72,000 members and will champion the cause of recreational poker players, and ensure equitable treatment and fair application of the regulations included in the Gambling Act to its membership.
The 2005 Gambling Act comes into force on 01 September 2007. Clubs that hold gaming licences will be allowed to host one prescribed game. At present, these arrangements will only apply to bridge and whist, but not poker which could lead to the closure of many poker clubs.
Poker is one of the fastest growing card games in the UK with over two million participants. Even though it is a game of equal chance it has not been officially classified by the Government as a prescribed game. Poker is a game of equal chance, because like whist and bridge, every player has an equal chance to win at the outset of a game.
There is no ‘house’ or unfair odds in poker, just players with an equal chance of success at the start. As with bridge and whist, it is the skill of the players that largely determines the eventual winner. Poker should therefore also be classified as a prescribed game.
The UKPCA believes that the British public should be able to play poker in dedicated poker clubs. Poker clubs provide safe, regulated locations, with value for money, fixed priced tournaments which are specifically tailored for poker players, without the gambling distractions that casinos provide. The UKPCA would therefore oppose the implementation of regulations by the Secretary of State pursuant to the Gambling Act that would restrict the playing of poker in private members’ clubs.
Geoff Owen, Chairman of the UKPCA, commented:
“We believe the exclusion of poker from the list of prescribed games, which instead favours the establishment games of bridge and whist, is out of touch with the rising demand for and popularity of poker.
“Poker clubs provide a relaxed and friendly venue for the public to play poker – a predominantly skill-based game and leisure activity enjoyed by thousands of people across the UK. There is a real risk that any failure to give anxious consideration to the recommendations and advice of the poker industry will result in the closure of the UK’s poker clubs.
“Our concern is that the current regulatory proposals will see poker players becoming more vulnerable to problem gambling if forced to play in a casino. It could also result in a considerable rise in online poker activity and unregulated ‘underground’ poker, as players seek alternative venues away from a casino environment.
“We are confident that the UKPCA can provide accurate and persuasive information and advice to the Gambling Commission, the Department of Culture Media and Sport and, subsequently, the general public, with a view to bringing poker safely within the regulatory framework of the Gambling Act 2005 whilst avoiding the undesirable consequences of a wholesale closure of poker clubs across the United Kingdom. This will involve agreeing a detailed code of practice for poker clubs in the United Kingdom that will be endorsed by the UKPCA and rigorously enforced by the Gambling Commission.”
For further information contact:
Jonathan Shillington
Citigate Public Affairs
jshillington@hfgcg.com0207 826 2646/07900 053 536
Notes to Editors:
The aim of the UKPCA is to ensure that the provision of facilities for poker is brought within the regulatory framework of the implementation plan for the Gambling Act 2005.
The 13 poker clubs to have formed the trade association represent poker clubs come from across the country and are:
Big Bluff, Enfield - Big Slick, Purley - Chiswick Poker Club – Cincinnatis, Glasgow - Equal Chance, Walthamstow - Lucky Fish, Hastings - Sovereign Poker Club, Aldershot - The Circuit, Camden - The Full House, Reigate - The Gutshot, Clerkenwell - The Rivercard Club, Stanmore - The Western, Park Royal – Club Havana, St Albans
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