[According to Legal Precedent] 68. Hold'em Pubs: The Boundary Between Legality and Illegality

*This content was translated by AI.

In recent years, hold'em pubs have exploded in number across the country.

The image of a sophisticated space where Trump cards are handled and a sport enjoyed as a hobby has attracted young people. However, there is also suspicion that these are not places for healthy recreational entertainment but rather gambling venues.

Article 247 of the Criminal Act on establishing a gambling house is established when one opens a gambling house as the host for profit (Supreme Court Decision 2009. 2. 26., Case No. 2008Do10582). It does not even matter whether actual gambling took place. The crime is completed at the moment a game is opened for profit (Supreme Court Decision 2009. 12. 10., Case No. 2008Do5282).

So, where lies the boundary between legality and illegality? Cases deemed guilty by courts share common elements: accepting cash from customers and exchanging it for chips; deducting a certain percentage of each game's stakes as a fee; employing dealers to conduct the games; and allowing players to exchange chips back into cash at the end. In fact, one hold'em pub operated on this structure for about a year with a scale of several billion won, collecting fees from a portion of participants' contributions before being handed over to the courts. Once such a structure is objectively confirmed, courts no longer view the venue as a place for healthy entertainment, regardless of whether the signboard says "cafe."

The problem does not end here. Offering hold'em games without being a casino operator also violates the Tourism Promotion Act, and if gambling is tolerated while registered as a general food establishment, it may also constitute a violation of the Food Sanitation Act. One business can thus incur multiple layers of criminal liability. In fact, courts have applied both the Tourism Promotion Act and the crime of establishing a gambling house to hold'em operations simultaneously.

However, courts do not always side with prosecutors. If the operation does not follow the structure described above, and if this is supported by evidence, no criminal liability can be imposed.

Ultimately, criminal cases surrounding hold'em pubs are decided based on two axes: "the substance of the operational structure" and "the specific degree of individual involvement." Even within the same space, the responsibility differs for operators, dealers, and participants; even for the same operator, probation or actual imprisonment depends on the scale and nature of participation. If one becomes a subject of investigation regarding hold'em pubs, vague anxiety or groundless optimism are both dangerous. It is advisable to carefully verify whether operations were conducted legally within the boundaries permitted by our laws.

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*This content was translated by AI.