An important decision to proprietors of billiard rooms has been given by the Manchester City Stipendiary in a case in which George Battye, who has a billiard saloon in Rudyard Street, Queen's Road, Harpurhey, was summoned for keeping the place as a common gaming house.
The magistrate said he found that one table in each of the defendant's two rooms was used for pool, and that in each game the players had paid 7d. to the marker. At the end of the game the marker retained 1d. of each 7d. as payment for the use of the table, and paid the remainder to the winner. In addition pennies were paid by the losers of" lives "to those who caused the" lives " to be lost.
In games of billiards the losers usually paid for the table.
He decided that defendant knew games were played under those conditions, and that the stakes were not excessive, and that billiards and pool were games of skill and not unlawful games.
His opinion was that unlawful gaming meant gaming carried on in such a manner or for such length of time, or for such stakes, having regard to the circumstances of the players, that it was likely to be injurious to the morals of the players. All games were unlawful in which a bank was kept by one or more players to the exclusion of others, or in which the chances were not alike favourable to all the players, including among the players the banker or other person who might be managing the game. It was not clear that games of skill, if played for excessive or extravagant stakes, might not be unlawful gaming, but that question did not affect this case, as he had decided that the stakes were not excessive.
On the whole, he was of opinion that what took place was not unlawful gaming, and the summonses, therefore, would be dismissed. It was worth adding that public billiard rooms were licensed under the Act of 1845, and that the form of license did not prohibit billiards being played for money, though it did prohibit unlawful games being played on licensed premises.
A further test case of interest to clubs and owners of billiard tables was heard before the Manchester Stipendiary Magistrate on January 4, when John Hefferman, of Lancaster Avenue, Failsworth, was summoned for unlawfully allowing the public use of a billiard table.
The story of the prosecution was that the defendant owned a miniature billiard table which was kept in the kitchen of a confectioner's shop. The table was used by youths, who paid 2d. for admission to the room, and who were allowed to play other games, such as cards and draughts. There was no special charge for the billiards.
A youth employed by the police visited the room on several occasions, and was allowed in without questioning.
Hefferman's defence was that he rented the room as a representative of the committee of a football club, that he was acting entirely from philanthropic motives in trying to keep the lads off the street, that he thought the police representative was a new member of the club, that only club members were admitted, and that the charges for admission did not meet the rent of the room. He added that he had made enquiries at the City Police Court before opening the room, and understood from the advice given him that if he did not charge for the billiards and confined the play to club members he would be all right.
The Stipendiary Magistrate, after pointing out that the public use of the table and not the payment for the use was the matter upon which the case turned, said that the members of a club could use the table, but the plan adopted by the defendant was not the right one. The matter, however, was really a trivial one, and a penalty of 5s., without costs, would meet the case.