Welsh Casinos May Suffer Financially Due To Lengthy Closures

After land based casinos, along with the majority of businesses throughout the country closed their doors back in March due to the Pandemic, the financial impact has been huge and even destroyed some businesses.

Safety Measures Implemented

Government’s have implemented strict safety measures to prevent the spread of the virus to enable businesses to reopen including social distancing, hand sanitising and mask wearing to keep staff and customers safe. During the closure of businesses, owners and staff have worked tirelessly to make venues and shops as safe as possible.As lockdown restrictions eased and shops and businesses slowly reopened, casinos, betting outlets and bingo halls were some of the last to reopen. England gave the green light to open such venues during July and August with Scotland following shortly after, but Welsh Governments have decided land based casinos cannot reopen until the 29th August, despite the fact they have all followed strict safety guidelines set out by the government.

Financial Impact

After the decision was made to allow land based casinos to reopen, the Betting and gaming Council (BGC) praised local authorities, but, they have also called for the business rate relief be extended to help these businesses recover and protect jobs after such a lengthy closure.Wales is home to four casinos and 300 betting shops who employ around 2,000 staff, but theses jobs could be in real jeopardy by permanent closure if they cannot remain sustainable. Experts fear the reopening of land based venues would not be enough, as the once traditional land based casino goers have mostly migrated online during the lockdown.

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