Thinking of opening a snooker club, pool hall or gaming cafe? It’s a solid business in India — steady footfall, repeat customers, and good food-and-drink margins. Here’s a practical starter checklist.

1. Pick your concept and location

Decide your mix: pure snooker/pool, a PS5/PC gaming lounge, or a mixed venue (the most popular today). Look for first-floor or basement spaces near colleges, residential areas or markets, with enough room — a snooker table needs roughly 12–14 ft of clearance around it.

2. Budget the setup

Rough cost buckets to plan for:

Tables / consoles — snooker and pool tables range widely (₹40,000 to a few lakh each); PS5 setups with a screen are far cheaper to add.
Interiors & lighting — proper table lighting, seating, flooring.
Deposit & rent.
Canteen setup — a small kitchen/counter pays for itself quickly.
Software & POS — keep this lean; you don’t need expensive hardware (more below).

3. Sort licences & compliance

Requirements vary by state and municipality, but commonly include a shop & establishment registration, trade licence, GST registration, and possibly local gaming/amusement permissions and fire safety clearance. Check your local municipal rules early — don’t leave it to the end.

4. Plan your layout for flow

Put the billing counter where staff can see all tables. Keep walkways clear, the canteen accessible, and screens/consoles away from glare. Good sightlines mean fewer disputes and easier billing.

5. Hire and set roles

Even a small club needs a cashier and a helper. Give each person the right access — a cashier shouldn’t be able to delete bills or see full reports. Role-based permissions protect you from day one.

6. Set up billing before you open

This is where many new owners lose money in month one. You want, from day one:

Per-minute / per-game / per-frame table billing
Per-controller charges for consoles
Canteen orders on the bill + stock tracking
UPI, cash and Khata collection
GST-ready bills and daily reports

You do not need to buy touchscreen panels or a PC server. CueBill runs all of the above on the Android phone you already own, for ₹399/month with a 14-day free trial.

7. Open, measure, improve

Track your numbers from day one — peak hours, top tables, canteen sales — and adjust pricing and stock accordingly. See 8 ways to grow club revenue and how to price your tables.

Ready to set up billing? Explore snooker, pool or gaming cafe billing, or start your free trial.

CueBill is available in your city

Starting a club in a specific city? See how CueBill works in your market:

Snooker billing: Mumbai · Bangalore · Delhi NCR · Hyderabad · Chennai · Pune · Kolkata · All cities →

Gaming cafe billing: Mumbai · Bangalore · Delhi NCR · Noida · Pune · Hyderabad · All cities →

How to Start a Snooker Club or Gaming Cafe in India