UK Casinos To Close Bars To Avoid Closure

Grosvenor Casinos in Scotland will stay closed longer

Betting and Gaming Council chief executive Michael Dugher

UK Casinos have offered to close all their bars serving alcohol in an attempt to avoid being closed down due to possible new government restrictions on the hospitality and entertainment sector due to COVID-19.

Rising cases especially in the north of England are a major concern for the government and it is expected that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce early next week a plan for a new three-tier system of local lockdowns.

As in Scotland with recent rises in cases the first minister has closed casinos there and the UK trade body for gambling companies has written to all Members of Parliament pleading for casinos to remain open.

Below is the open letter from the Betting & Gaming Council who represent the majority of gambling businesses in the UK:

Casinos have offered to stop selling alcohol in order to avoid catastrophic closures which could lead to thousands of job losses.

The venues – which employ 14,000 people and raised £1.3bn for the Treasury in the last three years – fear being forced to close their doors once again in the latest round of Covid-19 restrictions being introduced by the Government.

Boris Johnson is next week expected to announce a new three-tier system of local lockdowns which could see hospitality businesses ordered to close for weeks in an attempt to bring down infection rates.

It comes after Nicola Sturgeon announced the closure of hospitality venues – including casinos – across the central belt of Scotland, which includes Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Casinos in England and Wales have said that a similar move south of the border would be disastrous for a sector already reeling from the effects of the first lockdown earlier this year.

They were only allowed to re-open again in August – having won Public Health England’s backing for their best-in-class anti-Covid measures – before being hit by the 10pm curfew on hospitality and leisure venues last month.

That has seen casino revenues down by up to 70 per cent compared to 12 months ago.

In a last-ditch bid to avoid closure, the sector has said it is prepared to stop selling alcohol altogether to ensure their omission from the list of businesses being ordered to close.

Debbie