England Poker League: Play to WIN-WIN-WIN

Would you like to take on a 'lifestyle' business that allows you to flex your entrepreneurial skills and develop a growing income stream? Are you a poker fanatic who would enjoy organising regular poker tournaments under a league system which does not involve any element of gambling, but rather offers a free to play, professional poker tournament suitable for all levels of player?

England Poker League (EPL) is based on a highly successful franchised business concept that has established a national network of 80 franchisees in Australia, and has now been launched in the UK to take advantage of the huge and growing interest in the game at tournament level. The franchise recruitment operation for EPL in the UK is being led by Paul Haworth, whose early career was spent with two world-class companies: Procter & Gamble and then Pepsi Cola International (at director level) which operated well-known franchise brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Pepsi.

With a 20 year track record in franchising, Paul is putting his resources and know-how into developing EPL as a national network of franchisees with an initial investment requirement of £30,000 (£10,000 up front with EPL lending the remaining £20,000). Paul has assembled a great management team to develop the EPL concept which he is convinced will be a real winner.

HOW THE PLAYERS WIN

"The basic concept of EPL is like entering a pub quiz: you go to the venue, such as a pub, bar, bingo hall, social club or restaurant, and play competitive poker where no money is at stake," Paul explains. "It's all the fun and competitive elements of poker playing but rather than risking any money you're playing for points, and if you score highly enough over the season you will qualify for the finals where you can win a seat at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas."

For example, a current player that has been regularly going to the St. Albans poker league observes: "It's really, really good fun. You'd think because there's no gambling its wouldn't be as competitive but the games really get going and people really get into them."

HOW THE CUSTOMERS WIN

"The business for the venues is all about utilising existing resources and bringing in new patronage," explains EPL General Manager Alex Frost. "We are running our professional tournaments at the venue and bringing in new local customers. The venue makes money through increased sales on food, drink, slot machines, etc. Also, with the public smoking ban coming in July this is set to become an absolutely fantastic opportunity for pubs looking for a hook to bring people in on a quiet night."

HOW THE FRANCHISEES WIN

"The franchisee earns from the venue, which pays per player to host the tournament," says Alex. "For the franchisee it is a business that, with hard work and a real focus on implementing EPL's systems, which can provide a really good return on a low investment. It's win-win-win."

UK OPERATIONS

In October EPL launched a head office operation covering St. Albans, Uxbrigde, Watford and Reading which has performed over and above expectations and each of those territories has now been bought as a franchise. Now, with franchise numbers five, six and seven launched at the start of April in Harrow, Milton Keynes and Luton, EPL is looking to bring on board its next wave of franchisees. "The first tournaments started at between 12 and 25 players and quickly picked up from there," reveals Alex. "Our best growth region is now Watford, where nearly every tournament attracts over 50 players."

David adds: "There are no other poker league concepts which match our focus and diligence in developing a strong national brand. The quality of the product we deliver is excellent, and the potential earnings for our franchisees are significant. We are seeking around 600 franchisees to cover the UK market, including 40 in Wales, and are also seeking to expand into Scotland and Northern Ireland as the league develops."

Requiring an initial investment of £10,000, with a further £20,000 paid over time, the EPL franchise is described as suitable for individuals who combine people skills with a passion for entertainment. "This business is not just about signing the venue up the first time - it's forming a relationship with the venue management and becoming a part of their team so that they're supportive of your business," David explains.

"Therefore the key focus is an ability to get on with people - your two major clients as a franchisee are the venue managers and the player base. What it really comes down to is having a belief in the concept and how it's going to work for the venue."

AUSTRALIAN FRANCHISEE EXPERIENCE

by Operations Director David Behan

"Interest in poker really took off in Australia when Australian Joe Hachem became the World Series of Poker World Champion in 2005. This was the same year the Australian Poker League was launched and poker was really brought to the forefront of people's imaginations.

"I signed up for a franchise with my business partner that September after working at the Star City Casino for five years, and took over the 'City North' territory in Sydney. Our first tournaments were averaging between 40 and 50 players turning up straight away and it just grew exponentially - we are now running 13 events a week averaging about 80 people per tournament. We have 10 staff working for us and are turning over Aus$40,500 a month with really great profit margins. The Australian league as a whole has around 210,000 registered members and we have over 80 franchises in operation - the entire country's covered.

"The opportunity to be involved in EPL, which is using the Australian model in a much larger market with huge potential, has brought me over to the UK. My role as Operations Director for EPL is to support the structuring and set up of the tournaments here. My business partner is still operating our franchise in Australia, and I am retaining my interest in that business while concentrating on developing the league over here.

"So far the reaction to the concept in the UK has been exceptionally positive, and our Master Franchisee in Wales kicked off with startling numbers of players in their initial 'soft' season. We're looking to develop that level of success throughout England and just seeing the development of online gaming companies here shows what massive interest there is in the game."

UK FRANCHISEE EXPERIENCE

Business partners Daniel Decent, Martin Leslie and Jason Rich have recently launched one of EPL's most successful franchises in Watford

Daniel Decent:

"Most of my business background is in sales and I've been playing poker for as long as I can remember. The opportunity to bring these two together led to my interest in EPL.

"The basics of the business are very simple - going to venues and setting up the poker tournaments. Experienced poker players as well as newcomers are welcome, both being attracted by the fact that they can play for free. The venues themselves are charged a small fee for each player, and can recoup this cost from the increased number of customers. The poker nights regularly bring in upwards of 40 people and, particularly on otherwise quiet nights, this can massively increase the venue's revenue. The best thing about the franchise is that the more popular tournaments become, the more our turnover grows. There's a strong referral rate from word of mouth alone.

"The training is fantastic and got us to grips with every aspect of the business. EPL made sure we had everything ready for the launch and provided us with a full range of branded equipment. Although knowledge of poker would be a great help, it's not totally essential as EPL will teach you the game.

"The business took off very quickly and we've already doubled our initial number of venues. The support from EPL is second to none and is going to be a great help."

Martin Leslie

"Although I hadn't any plans of running my own business, I recognised EPL would let me indulge my love of poker too so I decided to jump on board. Jason and I had an initial meeting with Daniel who was working for EPL in the Watford area, and he joined us in the investment as well. We make a great team and have just the right balance of poker knowledge and business know-how between us.

"We started off with four venues but this has rapidly developed into 14 in only a few months. We've found that some venue managers are actually coming to us asking if we can put on an event for them. The benefits to the venues are huge and they are very much aware of this - the money each player spends on drink, food, pool and the fruit machines greatly outweighs the small fee the venues are charged. It's a business with a massive amount of potential - there's not many venues that wouldn't want more people through their doors and I believe that EPL is the best way to capitalise on this."

"We were initially thinking of developing the business at a slow and steady rate but have found that business is so good we have grown faster than we thought. We've even had to turn some venues away! I think EPL is so successful because of the level of professionalism that we offer. The bespoke and branded equipment gives us a good reputation and makes each night really feel like an event - which is why the players keep on coming back.

"One of the most important aspects of the franchise is the EPL website that ties all the tournaments together. All the leader boards are displayed and players visit the site all the time. It really helps keep the players actively interested and gives us a strong brand identity. The players love the product and come back time and time again and to different venues too. The poker nights also have a high rate of customer referral meaning that player numbers steadily increase even without additional marketing."