The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has welcomed a decision by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to modify new legislation on gaming fees.

Pubs holding existing gaming machine permits with expiry dates after 1 September will no longer be liable to pay the annual £50 fee until they convert their permit, and the legislation will now be phased in over three years.

The original proposal recommended introducing a blanket fee for all on 1 September, payable in one instalment.

The Association believes this modification will save the industry around £750,000.

In addition, dominoes and cribbage are to be considered separate from poker, and thereby exempt from new draft poker regulations. The proposed weekly limit of £500 for poker stakes and prizes has also been amended to a daily limit of £100 only.

Mark Hastings, BBPA director of communications, said: “Given the pressures facing the trade this year, I’m pleased the DCMS has listened to our common sense arguments about the introduction of new gaming machine charges.

“It’s good to see that the DCMS has adopted a common sense approach over poker, cribbage and dominoes. Stakes were always likely to be small, and this has never been about gambling, but pub games as an entertainment alongside pub quizzes. It’s great that pub players will be allowed to enjoy these games with modest stakes and a minimum of regulatory interference.”