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The landlord's blog Rules and licences

Are pub race nights legal? A plain guide to the gambling rules for UK pubs

Can a pub run a race night? It depends on whether people pay, whether there's a prize, and where the money goes. Free race nights, charity race nights and the pub's own race nights, explained in plain English with a checklist.

By Shaun at Teal Farm 11 min read

A pub cellar full of kegs
The cellar at Teal Farm.

Race nights come up every autumn. Someone wants to raise money for the football team, a regular has a DVD of old races, or you just fancy a lively Friday. Then somebody asks the awkward question: is this actually legal in a pub?

The short answer is that a race night can be legal in a pub, but whether yours is depends on three things: whether people pay to play, whether there's a prize, and where the money ends up. Get those three right and you're usually fine. Get them wrong and you can be providing illegal gambling without meaning to.

This isn't legal advice. I'm a landlord, not a solicitor. Everything below comes from the Gambling Commission's guidance and the Gambling Act 2005, linked at the bottom. For your own event, check with your local licensing authority or the Gambling Commission. This guide is about Great Britain, where the Gambling Act 2005 applies. Northern Ireland has its own rules.

What is a race night, legally?

A race night is usually a film of horse races, often old ones, played on a screen while people back horses. The Gambling Commission describes a race night as an event where "participants stake money on the outcome of live, recorded or virtual races".

The law doesn't have one box called "race night". Depending on how you run it, the same evening can count as:

  • Gaming, if picking a horse is down to pure chance. The Act says gaming is "playing a game of chance for a prize".
  • Betting, if there are odds or form and people are making a judgement about which horse will win.
  • A lottery, if each person who pays is given a horse at random, like a raffle ticket.

Which of these it is decides which rules apply. That's why two race nights that look the same on the night can be treated completely differently.

Option 1: a free race night with no stakes and no prize

If nobody pays anything, nothing is staked and there's no prize, it isn't gaming. Under section 6 of the Act, gaming needs a game of chance played for a prize. Take away the money and the prize, and you've just got a film of some horses and a room full of people shouting at the telly.

Be careful with the word "free", though. The Act says a person plays for a prize "even if" they risk nothing by playing. So a free race night where the winner gets a bottle of wine or a bar tab may still count as gaming, specifically prize gaming. The guidance I read doesn't spell out how that applies to a free race night in a pub, so if you want to give prizes, ask your licensing authority first.

The cleanest version for a pub is: free to play, no stakes, no prizes, just for fun.

This is where a free-to-play race night on your screens fits. StockTap TV has one: everyone picks a horse on their phone, the race plays on every screen, it's free to play with no money or stakes, and you start it from your dashboard.

Option 2: a fundraising (non-commercial) race night

This is the classic charity race night, and the Gambling Commission has guidance specifically for it. Our guide to running a charity race night in a pub covers the planning. Here's the legal side.

The money must all go to a good cause

Under section 297 of the Act, an event is non-commercial if "no part of the proceeds" is used for private gain. The Gambling Commission says all the money taken from the event must go to the advertised good cause. Proceeds include entrance fees, sponsorship, and the difference between what's staked and what's paid out.

You can take out reasonable costs, like prizes and printing. And there's an important point for pubs: the Commission says money taken by a third party selling goods or services at the event, such as drinks and food, doesn't count as money raised and can be kept by that third party. So the bar takings are yours. The race money isn't.

Picking a horse must be pure chance

For a race night run as non-commercial gaming, the Commission says players must pick a horse "totally dependent on chance". You can't give odds or form. Playing an old race is fine, as long as you don't reveal the details of the horses.

Choose one of three types

The Commission says a non-commercial race night can run without a licence if it fits one of three types, each with its own limits:

  • Prize gaming. Prizes must be advertised before the event and must not depend on how many people play or how much is taken. There's no limit on prizes as long as they're advertised in advance. Players must be told which good cause benefits.
  • Equal chance gaming. Players can be charged no more than £8 per day in total, covering entry, stakes and anything else. Total prizes across all players must be below £600, or up to £900 for the final of a series where all the players took part in the earlier rounds.
  • An incidental lottery. Each paying customer is given a horse at random. Up to £500 of the proceeds can go on prizes and up to £100 on expenses. Donated prizes have no limit. Tickets can only be sold at the event while it's taking place, not online or in advance, and prizes can't roll over. The Commission also says an incidental lottery can't be the main reason for the event.

Other rules for fundraising nights

  • No online play. The Commission says none of these exemptions can be run remotely, which includes online and social media.
  • Under 18s. The Commission says under 18s can take part in race nights run as non-commercial gaming.

Option 3: a race night with odds and a bookmaker

Some fundraising race nights have a bookmaker taking bets with odds and form. The Commission says this kind of race night can only take place at sports venues under an occasional use notice, with bets taken by a licensed bookmaker. A notice can't be used for more than eight days a year at any one venue, and all proceeds must still go to good causes.

A pub isn't a sports venue, and the Commission is blunt about betting in pubs. Its guidance to licensing authorities says: "Commercial betting, regardless of the level of stakes, is not permitted in alcohol licensed premises." Publicans who accept bets, even on behalf of a licensed bookmaker, could be prosecuted.

So a race night where you or a staff member take bets at odds, or run a book, is not something a pub can do.

Option 4: a race night run for the pub's own profit

This is the one people get wrong most often. You charge £2 a horse, pay out some of it, and keep the rest for the till. That isn't a non-commercial event, because some of the proceeds are for private gain, so the fundraising exemptions in Option 2 don't apply.

What pubs are allowed without a gambling licence is set out in the rules on exempt gaming in alcohol-licensed premises (section 279 of the Act). In short, the gaming must be equal chance gaming, and:

  • no participation fee can be charged
  • nothing can be deducted or levied from what's staked or won
  • children and young people must be excluded
  • it can't be linked with a game at another premises

For games other than poker, cribbage and dominoes in a pub, the Commission's summary table gives a stake limit of £5 per person per game. Its bingo guidance adds that all stakes must be returned as prizes.

Outside the fundraising rules, prize gaming normally needs a prize gaming permit (section 289 of the Act), and the Commission's prize gaming guidance doesn't list pubs among the places that can offer it without one.

Read those rules together and the pub can't make money from the gaming itself. No entry fee, no cut. Whether a chance-only race night counts as equal chance gaming in a pub isn't something the Commission's race night guidance addresses, so I'd treat that as unclear and ask your licensing authority before trying it.

The Commission also says gambling in a pub must stay ancillary to the main purpose of the premises, which is selling drinks.

What pubs commonly get wrong

From reading the guidance, these are the traps:

  1. Keeping a cut "for the house". Any share kept by the pub turns a fundraiser into a commercial event and breaks the exempt gaming rules too.
  2. Showing odds or form. As soon as people can make a judgement, it starts to look like betting, and commercial betting isn't allowed in pubs.
  3. Calling it a charity night but not saying which charity. For prize gaming, players must be told which good cause benefits before they play.
  4. Charging more than £8 a head on an equal chance night, or letting prizes go over £600.
  5. Selling horses or tickets in advance or online. Incidental lottery tickets can only be sold at the event, during the event.
  6. Assuming "free" means anything goes. A free race night with a prize may still be gaming.
  7. Letting under 18s into the pub's own gaming. Exempt gaming in a pub must exclude children and young people. (Charity race nights run as non-commercial gaming are different.)
  8. Assuming a race night company has done the legal thinking for you. It's your premises. A licensing solicitor's Q&A on this topic advises getting assurance from any provider that it's acting within the Act.

Horse auctions, where people bid for horses and the money goes into a pot, are popular. The Commission's race night guidance I read doesn't mention auctions, so I can't tell you how they're treated. If you want to run one, ask first.

Why it matters for your premises licence

The risk isn't just a fine. That same licensing solicitor's Q&A points out that unlawful gambling can engage the crime and disorder licensing objective, which can lead to a review of your premises licence. And the Commission's guidance says a licensing authority can remove a pub's exempt gaming entitlement if gaming breaks the section 279 conditions.

That's a lot to risk for a fiver a horse.

Race night decision checklist

Find your race night in this list:

  • Free, no stakes, no prizes. Not gaming. Nothing to stake, nothing to win.
  • Free, but the winner gets a prize. May still be gaming (prize gaming). Unclear for pubs, so ask your licensing authority.
  • Paid, all profit to a named good cause, horses picked by chance. Non-commercial gaming. Use prize gaming, equal chance gaming (£8 a day, prizes under £600) or an incidental lottery, and stay inside its limits.
  • Paid, a horse given at random to each buyer at a one-off event, for charity. Incidental lottery. £500 for prizes, £100 for expenses, tickets sold only at the event.
  • Odds, form or a bookmaker. Betting. Not allowed in pubs. Sports venues only, under an occasional use notice.
  • Paid, and the pub keeps some of the money. Commercial. The fundraising rules don't apply, and exempt gaming bans fees and deductions.

Before you advertise anything, run through these questions:

  • Does anyone pay anything to take part? If not, is there a prize?
  • If they pay, does every penny of profit go to a named good cause, and have you told players which one?
  • Is the horse picked by pure chance, with no odds or form?
  • Which of the three non-commercial types are you using, and are you inside its limits?
  • Are tickets only sold on the night, in person?
  • Is the pub keeping only its normal bar and food takings?
  • If the night runs late, do your licensed hours cover it? If not, see our guide to Temporary Event Notices.
  • Have you checked anything unclear with your licensing authority? You can find your council, which handles gambling licensing locally, on GOV.UK.

For the practical side, from choosing the races to running the night, see how to run a race night in a pub. And if your race night sits alongside a quiz, our pub quiz rules are worth a read too.

Frequently asked questions

Are race nights legal in pubs?

They can be. A free race night with no stakes and no prizes isn't gaming. A fundraising race night can run without a licence if all the profit goes to a good cause and it fits one of the Gambling Commission's three non-commercial types. Taking bets at odds isn't allowed in pubs.

Do I need a licence to run a race night in my pub?

Not for a non-commercial race night that follows the Gambling Commission's rules, or for a free one with no stakes or prizes. A race night with a bookmaker taking bets needs an occasional use notice, and those are only for sports venues.

Can a pub keep some of the money from a race night?

Not from a fundraising race night. All the proceeds, after reasonable costs like prizes, must go to the good cause. The pub can keep its own drink and food takings.

How much can people pay at a charity race night?

It depends on the type. On an equal chance night, the Commission says no more than £8 per player per day, with total prizes below £600. Its guidance to licensing authorities says there's no limit on what players can be charged for an incidental lottery. The guidance I read doesn't give a charge limit for prize gaming, so check if you're unsure.

Can under 18s take part in a race night?

The Gambling Commission says under 18s can take part in race nights run as non-commercial gaming. They must be excluded from exempt gaming run by the pub itself.

Can I sell horses online before the night?

Not for an incidental lottery race night. Tickets can only be sold at the event while it's happening. The Commission also says none of the non-commercial exemptions can be run online.

Sources

We checked every source on 8 November 2026. Rules change, so check the latest version before you act. Nothing here is legal advice.

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