Delayed Casino Reopening in the UK

Casino Reopening in the UK seems way more complicated than we thought for the first time. This cause a huge disappointment to the operators in England. No one really knows when Prime Minister Boris Johnson will truly give the green light to land-based gambling. However, the earliest date is the 15th of August. Let’s take a closer look together which is the most realistic scenario for the upcoming month regarding the region’s dream factories!

In the latest gambling news, we spoke a lot about when will casinos reopen in the UK during the past months. Later we got the announcement, that casinos to reopen in England on the 1st of August. However, as the expected second wave is coming, casino reopening in the UK still not happened. This is causing unbelievable damage to the region’s operators. Even more, this can lead to a financial disaster in the UK gambling industry easily. All casinos’ operations have been suspended since March. Since then we are all sitting on pins and needles, when can we return to the British casino tables.

Casino Reopening in the UK is Delayed at least until the 15th of August

Boris Johnson’s announcement meant the light at the end of the tunnel for many casino operators. However, at the last moment, he called back his words and changed the date of casino reopening in the UK for the 15th of August. This is the final word regarding the resumes. However, if it won’t happen until the 15th that would mean the end of countless jobs and many casino closures. You can read more about Rank Group’s ominous predictions below. The clock is ticking and if the roulette wheel won’t start to spin again in two weeks, the sinister future will be real.

Boris Johnson’s only reason for the further suspension was that “the prevalence of the virus in the community, in England, is likely to be rising for the first time since May.” However, that’s not an answer for the mistreated casinos in the region. Michael Dugher, the CEO of Betting and Gambling Councils reacted the following via Twitter: “There is no evidence that casinos are “higher risk” venues and what happened to the government’s local lockdown strategy? – Why should a casino business remain closed in Bristol in the south west, where COVID-19 is low, because there’s a spike in greater Manchester? Big threat to jobs.”

By the way, we must admit that these strict restrictions since the pandemic are typical in England, Wales, and Scotland. For example, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set the casino reopening date to the 24th of August in Scotland.

Even if Health and Safety is the first, the latest decisions in connection with land-based casinos are controversial – Image source: Flickr

According to Rank Group if casino reopening in the UK won’t happen until the 15th we can count on serious consequences

John O’Reilly the CEO of Rank Group said that in big venues like the UK casinos the health and safety measurements are easy to follow. So, he can’t really get it why their operations suspended while small crowded pubs could reopen. He said: “We have taken additional measures to ensure our colleagues and customers remain safe and secure at all times”.

He also shared his vision about the financial consequences what a further suspension instead of a short delay can mean to the casino industry in England: “The blanket approach taken to casinos is not based on science. It does not appear to be taken on economic grounds either as, in addition to the £1.5m ($1.97m) losses we are experiencing for every week we remain closed, this is costing the Treasury nearly £2m a week in furlough and a similar amount in lost gaming taxes… The longer we are closed the bigger the risk to jobs as we are not in a position to benefit from the tapering furlough regime introduced by the Treasury to get everyone back to work by October.”

In conclusion, he said: “This has to be a two-week delay, not a suspension, or the sector is in a heap of trouble.”

In summary, we can expect political motivations behind that casino reopening in the UK still not happened. Since many different institutions which means even bigger threats than a well-prepared casino could reopen. Even they started to trial football matches with the audience. Thus, even if the sensible arguments would valid the resumes, we can not be sure when things will be the same in Great Britan’s gambling industry.