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It is understood that casinos in England will be given a date to reopen this week from the government along with other leisure activities that are currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\nIt is understood that casinos in England will be given a date to reopen this week from the government along with other leisure activities that are currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Sources in government have said that Chancellor Rishi Sunak is keen to get the economy started again with the opening of restaurants and pubs taking place over the last weekend it is now time for other businesses to start.<\/p>\n
Although it is not expected to be given the green light this week for casinos it is thought that they will be allowed to start up in July.<\/p>\n
The Betting & Gaming Council, the trade body for the UK gambling industry has today written an open letter asking for the Chancellor to allow the reopening of casinos and this can be seen below:<\/p>\n
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Rishi Sunak has been urged to give the green light for casinos to finally re-open later this month in order to boost Treasury coffers and help kickstart the economy.<\/p>\n
The venues were dealt a huge blow last month when ministers ruled that they could not open their doors again on 4 July, having been closed since the start of lockdown in March.<\/p>\n
It meant that thousands of casino staff remained on furlough \u2013 costing the Exchequer around \u00a35m a week.<\/p>\n
The closures mean the Treasury is also missing out on vast revenues, with casinos last year paying \u00a35.7m each week in tax and duties.<\/p>\n
Casinos have invested heavily to ensure their premises are covid-secure, with measures such as perspex screens, santisation equipment and sophisticated track and trace systems, as well as introducing other changes and strict social distancing measures.<\/p>\n
Now the Chancellor has been urged to use Wednesday\u2019s statement on how he plans to reboot the UK economy after Covid-19 to get the businesses \u2013 which employ more than 14,000 people and also contribute nearly \u00a34m a week to the tourism economy \u2013 back up and running.<\/p>\n
In an open letter to the Chancellor, Betting and Gaming Council chief executive Michael Dugher says the sector is ready to help get the UK economy back on its feet again as soon as it gets the green light from the Government.<\/p>\n
Mr Dugher says: \u201cThe UK casino sector were sorely disappointed not to be included in the list of industries allowed to reopen on 4 July.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe support from HM Treasury, such as the Job Retention Scheme, has been extremely welcome, however support for casinos is costing the Exchequer around \u00a35 million per week while they are closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cCasinos want to get back in business and once again contributing to the economy, not costing the Exchequer money. Last year, casinos paid over \u00a35.7m million in tax per week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith phased reductions in wage support kicking in soon, there is however a real fear that if reopening doesn\u2019t happen in July there will be severe damage caused to the casino industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter adds: \u201cThe cost of remaining in a reopening \u2018holding pattern\u2019 is significantly higher as it means businesses are kept in a state of preparedness, including maintaining the premises for reopening, cleaning, restocking supplies and staffing.<\/p>\n
The letter also points out that casinos across Europe have already re-opened, despite having to meet less stringent anti-Covid measures than those in the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving made the necessary preparations for a July reopening, casinos are ready and able to open at the earliest opportunity,\u201d Mr Dugher says. \u201cWe would greatly appreciate any help you can give to get our businesses back open and contributing to the UK economy.\u201d<\/p>\n