BGC hails “belated” casino reopening but cites challenges to come

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has welcomed the reopening of land-based casinos in England at the weekend after a “difficult period” for the sector. Casinos across England will officially be allowed to reopen on Saturday, ending a five-month lockdown period which has seen the sector shed jobs and suffer financial losses. Speaking about the sector’s return, BGC CEO Michael Dugher said the “belated” good news would come as a welcome relief to the 12,000 people employed in English casinos. “We regret that it has taken so long for staff to return to work – long after all manner of venues and activities, that don’t have anything like the anti-Covid measures you will see in any casino, were reopened,” said Dugher. Land-based casinos had been expected to reopen on 1 August, however the UK government backtracked on Covid-19 lockdown relaxations for a further fortnight less than 24 hours before they were due to do reopen. It followed suggestions the sector could not operate social distancing effectively, suggestions which casino operators have strenuously denied. “Given casinos had been cleared by Public Health England as safe to reopen and given we had the strong support of DCMS, who have been steadfast throughout, it was lamentable that our safe businesses had to suffer considerable hurt and expense with a further pointless two-week delay,” the BGC chief explained. The reopening will come as a welcome tonic to the land-based casino sector across England, with a cross-party group recently claiming casino operators could lose as much as  £11m in costs relating to taking staff off furlough and additional expenses. However, Dugher sounded a note of caution for the government, claiming the English casino sector was “not out of the woods” yet and could still suffer a further downturn. “The last five months has left many casinos on the brink and the next few months will be particularly crucial to their recovery as the tourism, leisure and hospitality sector slowly gets back on its feet,” he claimed. Earlier this week, the trade body called for the extension of the government’s furlough scheme to combat costs incurred as a result of the longer closure period.