Gambling Act Changes Prompt New Poker Player Demographic

Women poker players tell Scottish newspaper about how changes to the gambling laws have boosted their enjoyment of the card game.

Women are now looking to take on men at what has been dubbed "their own game" since Gambling Act 2005 changes permitted small-stakes poker games in pubs.

More female poker players have appeared since rules were changed last year to allow a certain level of betting activity in public, according to the Sunday Herald.

Some of the women who have begun playing the game spoke to the publication to explain why they enjoy it.

Zana McClymont, who was involved in a card game at McGills pub in the east of Glasgow, told the newspaper: "I love it ... I've only been playing for a couple of months but I'm absolutely hooked."

Before she started playing on a regular basis she had an image of poker enthusiasts as "aggressive, arrogant, chauvinistic old blokes", but not any more, she added.

Jennifer Tilly and Annie Duke are two female poker players to have had some success in the big tournaments around the world, while American Pie actress Shannon Elizabeth is a regular on the celebrity poker scene.