When It Rains, It Pours: UK Government Postpones Casino Opening To August 15 Again
More recently, it was reported that the UK government required local casino operators to remain closed until August 15. Given the changes in the situation with the pandemic, the government had to postpone possible easing of measures related to Covid-19.
Recall that in early July, government representatives repeatedly announced that they plan to weaken quarantine measures and allow casinos to open their doors to visitors. The same was true for cinemas and bowling centers. It was preliminarily agreed that starting from August 1, these businesses will be allowed to restart their activities.
All of the UK casinos have been closed since March 20 due to the worsening epidemiological situation. However, land-based bookmaker offices were still allowed to conduct business starting from June 15. Moreover, even gambling halls for Bingo were able to launch on July 4 and open their doors to long-awaited customers.
One way or another, the government was forced to postpone the planned steps to weaken the restrictions. Fans of gambling entertainment are still prohibited from gathering in large rooms for at least another two weeks. The issue of when fans can be admitted to sporting events is still open.
It is expected that this situation will definitely not get off the ground by the end of this month. According to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the government cannot take too risky steps and will continue to study a possible relaxation of quarantine shortly carefully.
On the other hand, Betting and Gaming Council CEO Michael Dugher stated that there is currently no clear evidence that casinos pose a high risk for visitors. However, this is not surprising, since the CEO has previously stated that he does not understand the government’s strategy regarding the forced closure of gambling establishments.
According to Dugher, the government misinterprets the situation. It continues to prohibit the opening of gambling establishments in those territories where the percentage of diseases is minimal. The executive director believes that such a strategy could lead to job losses and further deterioration in business performance. A similar reaction was because of the UK government re-introduced some restrictions in Northern England due to the increase in coronavirus cases.
The Scottish government has also advised its citizens to restrict any movement between cities but for urgent cases.
Meanwhile, gambling operators also received a notification that the preliminary date when casinos will be able to launch their business has been postponed to August 24.
Although this news really sounds optimistic, one still needs to understand that it concerns approximate opening dates. Depending on the changes in the situation with Covid-19, the government may continue restrictive measures for casino operators. Perhaps due to the large number of factors that may affect the case, Wales’s government does not announce even the date of the possible opening of the casino.
As a reminder, UK gambling establishments are empty, starting from March 23, 2020. Since then, the government has tightly demanded that gaming operators close their doors to visitors. These measures were supposed to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Nevertheless, many enterprises involved in the production of essential goods and services still continued their activities to provide citizens with everything they needed.
The UK government is currently taking all the necessary steps to move from the third step of easing restrictions to the fourth. The representatives of the authorities are well aware that citizens want the country to return to life as soon as possible. This also applies to players’ desire to return to their favorite entertainment in gambling houses throughout the country.
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