Legal Compliance

OVERVIEW 
The poker games we host in public venues:

• occur under "private use of a public venue" terms

• involve no rake, profit, or house advantage of any kind

• offer 100% prize payouts from collected buy-ins

• allow only invited members (not the general public)

• are all tracked, with detailed records available to auditors

• are operated by a registered non-profit organization

 

RELEVANT FEDERAL LAW

Criminal Code of Canada, Section 201 - Common Gaming House
"Prohibits maintaining or frequenting a space habitually used for gaming 'for gain'."

 

Why we're compliant:

• no individual or organization profits from poker activities

• commercial venues never receive per-player revenue

• the rented space is closed to public access during events

• the space is never used for the purpose of gain through gaming

Criminal Code of Canada, Section 202 - Betting and Pool Selling
"Prohibits operating or assisting in organized betting or pool selling for gain."

 

Why we're compliant:

• there is no bookmaker, operator, or organizer earning anything from our games

• the organization (Aylmer Poker Club) does not retain or benefit from player funds

• prizes are fully redistributed and publicly documented

• our events are not promoted or sold as a betting activity

Criminal Code of Canada, Section 204 - Exceptions for Private Bets
"Nothing in this part shall be construed to apply to bets between individuals not engaged in the business of betting."

 

Why we're compliant:

• our events are private and invite-only

• all poker proceeds are pooled and returned to players

• neither the players, organization, nor the venue(s) are engaged in the business of betting

RELEVANT PROVINCIAL LAW

Quebec Gaming Control Act (RLRQ c L-6)

"Grants Loto-Québec exclusively authority to operate and license gambling in public/commercial contexts."

 

Why we're compliant:

• our events are not open to the general public

• all public venues are used for a private rental, not public gaming

• there is no commercial enterprise operating poker or gaming

• no staff, venue owners, or third parties take a share of the game or its proceeds

• clear signage is used to indicate the private nature of our events

• detailed records of our activities within rented spaces are available to auditors

BONUS INFO

Voluntary Staff Gratuities
While there are no federal or provincial laws explicitly regulating the structure of our staff compensation model, we offer the following logical arguments and transparency regarding our system:

• 100% of staff gratuities ("tips") are rendered in a voluntary manner

• as with the organization itself, no staff members ever benefit directly from gaming operations

• nobody is ever forced to tip

• the game rules never punish or shame non-tippers

• in our tournaments, players are incentivized to tip by a standardized offer of extra chips, but never coerced by either staff or game structures

• in our tournaments, non-tippers receive no less 100 big blinds to start - an industry standard which is often referred to as "deep stacked", meaning that it represents a strong and competitive strategic position

• the free decision of players to tip or to not tip will never impact the quality of services rendered by club staff

• the management of APC's staff tips is overseen by seasoned professional with a passionate hardline stance against tip meddling