BGC: Thousands of casino jobs at risk due to UK curfew

The Betting and Gaming Commission has warned that thousands of jobs in the UK casino sector will be lost when businesses are placed under a 10pm curfew to tackle COVID-19.

The central government and local authorities are considering such extreme measures that will force venues across the country to close.

In a letter to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, BGC chief executive Michael Duggar and Genting UK boss Paul Wilcoq said such a move would "devastate" casinos, which account for between 50% and 70% of transactions after 10pm.

Britain's casinos, which have employed 14,000 people and donated 1.3 billion pounds in taxes to the Treasury over the past three years, only reopened last month after closing in March as part of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

They have been praised for their stringent anti-Covid measures, such as limits on capacity, Perspex screens and sophisticated track and trace systems, with Public Health England and the Department for Health and Social Care declaring casinos were not “higher risk” in July.

In their letter, Mr Dugher and Mr Wilcock point out that a typical casino visitor is aged 48, well above the age profile that ministers and councillors would be trying to target with the imposition of a curfew.

Furthermore, groups of young adults do not tend to gather in casinos to drink after 10pm, with venues vowing to take action to actively prevent it.

The letter says: “To ensure the sector’s survival it is vital that any additional Covid social distancing measures, such as curfews, are not imposed on businesses that have demonstrated that they are Covid-secure and do not cater for the age group targeted by the measure.

“The introduction of a blanket measure such as curfews would certainly result in many thousands of redundancies in a very short timeframe. It is no exaggeration to state that it would devastate the UK land-based casino sector.”

It goes on: “The conclusion to draw is that the impact of a casino curfew on Covid numbers would be negligible but the impact on our businesses would be catastrophic.”

With attendances at casinos at between 5 and 60 per cent of pre-Covid levels, the letter also urges the Government to either extend the furlough scheme – which is due to end next month – or introduce other targeted support for businesses trying to get back on their feet.   바카라사이트 순위

Michael Dugher said: “We support the need to act swiftly to protect public health, and thank the Government for the support they have given the UK’s casinos so far.

“However, a blanket 10pm curfew on businesses would be catastrophic and force casinos to close once again – this time for good.

"This will definitely result in thousands of redundancies, with a non-negligible impact on the spread of Covid.

"Since reopening in August, casinos have been able to protect their customers and employees by offering the best class safety measures, including sophisticated tracks and tracking systems.

"The new social distancing measures should focus on areas and age groups in most at-risk countries, rather than being applied arbitrarily across the board."

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