BGC: New immigration will hurt UK casino industry

The BGC (Betting and Gaming Council) has warned that the newly proposed United Kingdom government’s immigration system could have a severe adverse impact on the UK’s land-based casino industry, with significant negative consequences likely across the entire tourism and night-time economy.

The BGC represents approximately 90 per cent of the UK betting and gaming industry (excluding lotteries) including betting shops, online gaming businesses and casinos – a sector that employs over 100,000 people and contributes more than £14 billion to the UK economy.

The new points-based system is scheduled to come into force on January 1, 2021, when the transition period that followed the UK’s exit from the European Union is due to end. As a consequence of the new regulations, the immigrants to the country will now be required to fulfil a set of criteria in order to obtain a working visa to come to the UK.

The gaming council warns that the new immigration system “will damage highly successful parts of the UK economy”.

As per the BGC, up to 70 per cent of all the croupiers working across the UK come from other countries. They will no longer qualify for a work visa under the new system which requires them to provide evidence of them having the specific skills, qualifications, salaries or professions necessary for the same.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has also followed suit with a similar warning stating that the proposed measures will also hit hospitality and tourism businesses hard. The BGC clarified that casinos employ over 14,000 people, indirectly supporting 4,000 other jobs and contributing over £300m in tax revenue every year.

The FSB is a member-led, not-for-profit and non-party political organisation. It represents small firms and the self-employed to UK, national, local and devolved government.

Emphasising that casinos “remain a hugely important part of Britain’s leisure economy,” it is further highlighted that “a vibrant, modern and world-renowned” sector is a driver for high-value tourism drawn from an array of global regions, such as China and the Middle East.

Michael Dugher, BGC chief executive, commented, “Casinos are a hugely important part of our country’s leisure industry attracting thousands of wealthy tourists to the UK from around the world. In order to remain competitive, our casinos need the best croupiers with great arithmetic agility.”

He added, “While we are determined to grow the number of UK croupiers through the NVQ in gaming operations available at many colleges and through the world-class Nottingham Casino Academy, we need the ability to employ the best from around the world.”

The BGC is advising the UK government to work with the casino and hospitality industry to ensure that each continues to flourish and provide exemptions for certain workers and skills employed by these sectors.

Overall, the UK casino sector is believed to be directly responsible for £463m of gross value added and £757m when you include indirect and induced GVA (gross added value).