Greene King charges fans £5 pub deposit for every World Cup booking

Greene King, which operates around 2,600 venues across the United Kingdom, is charging fans a £5 per-person deposit to book a table for World Cup matches — applying the fee when England are playing in England and when Scotland are playing in Scotland.

The policy, which the pub chain typically only enforces on Christmas Day, can be redeemed in full against food and drink. However, fans forfeit the deposit entirely if they cancel with less than 72 hours’ notice or arrive more than 15 minutes late.

The move comes as FIFA has already drawn criticism for using dynamic ticket pricing at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, adding to a broader sense among supporters that attending or watching major international football is becoming increasingly expensive.

Despite the added financial risk, Greene King reported record bookings for England’s opening match against Croatia. The chain recorded 5,600 bookings across its managed pubs for that fixture — surpassing England’s first game at Euro 2024 against Serbia. Across all international football fixtures this summer, managed pubs have taken bookings for 65,000 covers in total.

Demand north of the border has also been strong. Almost 20 pubs across Scotland reached full booked seating capacity for Scotland’s opening game against Haiti, despite a 2am kick-off time.

A Greene King spokesperson defended the deposit scheme: “There is no better place to watch the games with fellow fans if you can’t be in the stadium. On some occasions, a deposit is required. This is not an additional charge for customers and it is 100 per cent redeemable against food or drinks. We do this to guarantee the very best in-pub atmosphere and experience for fans who want to come together and reserve the best seats for the games.”

The £5 deposit is expected to remain in place throughout the tournament for all England and Scotland fixtures.