The UK government will allow casinos in England to reopen from 1 August, with industry body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) is now calling on Wales and Scotland to follow suit.
"From August 1 we will reopen most remaining leisure settings, namely bowling, ice-skating rinks, casinos and we will enable close contact services at beauticians to resume," Johnson said.
He added that the government will ditch the work-from-home slogan from next month too, urging bosses to get Brits back to the office to save the economy. Johnson said it was safe to travel on public transport but to use other modes of transport if possible.
The move was hailed by the BGC, which has lobbied hard for the venues to be permitted to open in July, by highlighting casinos’ economic contributions, the jobs they provide and the measures taken by operators to ensure customers and staff are kept safe.
The venues have been closed for over four months, from 20 May, as a result of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and remained shuttered despite other land-based gambling outlets such as betting shops (15 June) and bingo halls (4 July) being allowed to welcome back customers.
"After four long months of lockdown, it’s fantastic to see casinos will reopen safely for business again on 1 August,” BGC chief executive Michael Dugher said. “I am delighted that they can now play their part in supporting the recovery of the tourism and hospitality sector.
“BGC casino members went the extra mile to meet strict Covid guidelines some weeks ago but were left in the dark as to when they would be allowed to reopen,” he continued. “I’d like to thank DCMS Secretary of State Oliver Dowden, Minister Nigel Hiddleston and the many cross-party MPs who supported us and worked hard to secure a reopening date.”
The confirmation of a reopening date will see many of the 12,000 people employed by the venues across England return to work.
Source: GMB / The Sun / iGB
