ABSTRACT
Gaming in licensed premises was illegal, until the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act, though the Royal Commission of 1949–51 admitted that betting and gaming such as playing darts for drinks or money were widespread, but major breaks of the law were very rare. They upheld the prohibition, arguing that the combination of drink and gambling was too explosive to contemplate. The 1960 Act, however, legalized the playing of certain games ‘for small stakes’ and it is with this form of gambling that we are now concerned.
