Illegal Gambling Den Pair Fined £32,000
Two men have been charged by the Crown Court with running illegal poker tournaments after an unlicensed gambling den was discovered at a pool bar in London. The accused were ordered to pay more than £32,000 in legal costs and fines when they were found guilty for the offences which occurred in December 2014.
Nicholas Clark and Luke Flack ran poker tournaments at an unlicensed casino in the Pool Bar Private Members Club on the Cambridge Road in central London. Their gambling ring offered prizes of up to £50,000 six times a week. The Crown Court discovered that Clark and Flack ran the illegal tournaments for up to a year before police uncovered the venue in December 2014, and found the poker club. The two men have pleaded guilty to charges which include: running an unauthorised casino; concealing, disguising, converting, transferring or removing criminal property and entering into, using or controlling criminal property in relation to the illegal poker games.
The Judge overseeing the case fined the pair £29,000 in the form of a payment to the local council, and ordered Clark to pay a fine of £2,300, and Flack a fine of £1,000.
A spokesperson for the Kingston council commented on the case, stating the they did “not tolerate any form of illegal trading. Poker clubs like The Pool Bar Private Members Club on Cambridge Road will be found, closed down and their operators prosecuted. We will always take a hard line on any illegal trading and will push for strong penalties, the revoking of licenses and closing down of premises. We hope this prosecution sends a clear message to those in the community who chose to carry out illegal gambling, or any illegal trading, within Kingston.”
The solicitor who was representing Kingston Council said that: “Judge Coello observed that this was a serious offence. The defendants’ attempts to portray The Pool Bar as a genuine private members club were a sham from the start. Instead it was being run as a commercial enterprise for the financial benefit of individuals rather than as a club run by the members for the benefit of the members. Ignoring the strict regulations applying to casinos meant vulnerable people were not afforded the protections the law sought to provide.”
The managers of the club, Jamie Kirkpatrick and David Thompson, both admitted unauthorised use of a premises and controlling criminal property, but both escaped with formal cautions instead of being fined.
