The UK Betting and Gaming Council continued to apply pressure to the government to reopen casinos in the UK this month. The government resisted that pressure but on July 17 announced that casinos in England would be eligible to reopen, along with bowling alleys and ice skating rinks. There still is no date set for the reopening of casinos in Scotland or Wales, however. Scottish bookmakers opened in early July but with no TVs, gaming machines or seats.
The BGC had criticized government inaction, with Executive Michael Dugher declaring, “Casinos want to get back in business and once again contribute to the economy, not cost the Exchequer money. Last year, casinos paid over £5.7m million in tax per week.” He added, “With phased reductions in wage support kicking in soon, there is a real fear that if reopening doesn’t happen in July there will be severe damage caused to the casino industry.”
Dugher gets that figure from the fact that as long as 14,000 casino workers are furloughed that is costing the government £5.7 million in taxes.
He added, “To our knowledge, casinos have met all Covid safety requirements and yet they are still not permitted to open. We urgently ask for your help to get casinos reopened and back to contributing to the UK economy.”
This month the government is announcing actions intended to restart the economy.
The reopening of British gaming is lagging way behind the rest of Europe, where most casinos are requiring social distancing, masks for all and extreme sanitizing. Most are also restricting the capacity of the casinos and limiting how many can play at a table.
Many UK casinos have closed for good. Genting announced last month that three of its properties would not be reopening and many poker rooms have also closed permanently.
Caesars UK has announced one closure and Rank has said that 12 “venues” won’t reopen before October.
BGC is offering similar criticisms of Scotland, where 900 bookies are facing closure from “draconian restrictions” preventing them from operating.
The shops reopened June 29, but then the ruling Scottish National Party instituted new rules such as removing chairs, turning off machines and prohibiting simulcast racing. This resulted in business plummeting by 95 percent according to BGC.
Taking aim at First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Dugher warned, “Sturgeon was right to say she wanted every business trading viably, but the government is single-handedly wrecking the viability of hundreds of betting shops in Scotland. We urge Sturgeon to intervene before it’s too late.” He added, “Making bookies open without any chairs or live racing shows a complete misunderstanding of how they operate.”
A Scottish official answered in a statement: “Our guidance, which gives betting shops the option to reopen partially for the purpose of placing bets only, is aimed at avoiding clusters of people gathering to watch live sport, with gambling machines switched off to avoid spread through surface transmission.”
