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BGC Pushes Harder for UK Casinos Reopening
By Jeff Osienya Jul 10, 2020 LegalityCasino operators in the UK appeal to the government after being left out when other non-essential businesses were allowed to reopen last weekend. BGC CEO drafted an open letter to make a pitch for the industry.Casino operators in the UK continue to put pressure on the government to finally allow them to reopen. There was a lot of speculation that land-based casinos would be allowed to resume operations on the 4th of July alongside a range of other non-essential hospitality venues, but it wasn’t the case. Unfortunately, the only gaming platforms that were given the green light to get back to business last weekend were bingo halls, leaving casinos in the dark yet again.
Betting shops in England on the other hand were allowed to reopen much earlier on 15th June by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Having closed their doors since 23rd March after mandatory shutdowns in fear of the pandemic, land-based casinos are now the only retail gambling facilities that are now missing in action.
The BGC Calls on the Government in an Open Letter
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), UK’s trade association for online operators, casinos and betting shops is once again calling on the UK government to allow casinos to reopen. BGC has tirelessly conveyed its disappointment and has gone as far as penning an open letter to the government through its CEO, Michael Dugher.
In the letter, Dugher highlighted the fact that leaving the casino premises closed is costing the Exchequer about £5 million each week by keeping over 14,000 employees of the casino sector on furlough. The trade body also went ahead and reminded the Royal Treasury of the economic benefits of the retail casino businesses which typically contribute about £4 million each weak to the country’s tourism sector.
Casinos in the UK Continue to Burn Cash
Dugher also pointed out the fact that the casino industry could end up suffering severe damage if it isn’t allowed to resume operations in July. Casinos are continuously burning cash given that they have been left in a constant state of preparedness that involves maintenance, cleaning, restocking of supply, and even staffing, and yet they aren’t taking in customers.
Moreover, gaming operators are also worried that the end of the government’s employee furlough scheme is nigh which poses a huge risk for thousands of workers in the hospitality and tourism industry. The BGC emphasized that its member operators in the UK have already set-up a selection of coronavirus safety measures and are ready to get “back to contributing to the UK economy”.
BGC’s appeal comes as Rishi Sunak, the Exchequer Chancellor announced that all businesses that serve the hospitality and tourism industry will only be paying a 5% VAT, down from the standard 20% until 12th January. On top of that Sunak also announced a job retention bonus of £1,000 for companies, for each furloughed employee they take back in. However, even with the Chancellor’s new announcements, BGC’s CEO has still insisted that the best move for the UK economy is to let casinos open their doors once again.
All the while, casinos in other parts of the world are springing back to life as economies try to recover the losses that were incurred as a result of pandemic enforced shutdowns.
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