Operating a Texas Hold'em gambling house in a bar

Operating a gambling house

'Gambling' refers to two or more persons staking property or property benefits against each other and deciding the loss or gain through a chance-based outcome, and it is subject to criminal punishment.

However, even if it constitutes gambling, if it is merely a 'temporary amusement', considering the time and place of the gambling, the value of the stakes, the social status and financial condition of the participants, and the use of the proceeds, it may be justified as not violating social norms and thus not punishable.

Meanwhile, a person who opens a place or space for gambling with the purpose of making a profit is guilty of operating a gambling house, and is subject to heavier punishment than those who merely gambled.

Facts of the case

The defendant (the client) ran a bar from around January 2021 to May of the same year, providing tables, cards, chips, and other items needed for poker, allowing an unspecified number of customers to gamble at 'Texas Hold'em', and earning about 43,000,000 Korean won in exchange fees and other charges. He was indicted and detained on charges of operating a gambling house.

The defendant initially denied the charges, claiming he had not exchanged cash, but after being detained, he changed his attitude and admitted all charges.

Joo Youngjae's response

Since the evidence secured by the police through seizure and search, along with the accomplices' confessions, made conviction seem certain, Joo Youngjae actively argued for leniency, emphasizing that the defendant had no prior criminal record, that he participated in the crime at the instigation of an accomplice and the actual profit was not large, and that the defendant had many family members to support.

Court's ruling

The court accepted Joo Youngjae's arguments on sentencing and sentenced the defendant to a suspended prison term.