Pubs and clubs bemoan "social" poker deal

LONDON (Reuters) - Pub and private club operators lodged an appeal on Friday against new government restrictions on poker playing.

Under new gambling laws, the Department of Culture Media and Sport has proposed to limit poker participation fees that pubs and private clubs can charge to 1 pound, stakes to 10 pounds and prize pots to 200 pounds per day.

Under current rules poker is not allowed in pubs while suitably licensed clubs, such as snooker clubs, have no limits on stakes or prize pots.

Clubs are attacking the new limits as draconian, while the government has asked for consultation before they are implemented later this year.

"Ten pound does not reflect actual levels of an adults' leisure spend for a night out in the UK and is overly restrictive on social poker players," Peter Haspel, Managing Director of Britain's biggest snooker and pool firm, Georgica, told Reuters.

Pubs and private clubs are looking for new ways to attract customers as drinkers spend less in pubs and as they prepare for an imminent smoking ban in England.