England’s Casinos to re-open on 17th May
Casinos across the UK have been forced to close their doors for the best part of a year, but good news is on the horizon, as England’s casinos have been given the go-ahead to re-open their doors again on 17th May.
Casinos and Bingo Venues ‘hard hit’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, announced that casinos, bingo halls, bowling alleys, cinemas, theatres, amusement arcades and indoor dining, will be allowed to open once again. This is the 3rd level of the roadmap out of lockdown, with the last and final step being the removal of all restrictions on 21st June.
Casinos and bingo venues have been particularly hard hit during the Covid pandemic. They initially closed on 23rd March 2020 along with the rest of the country, but were one of the last businesses allowed to open in July 2020 after restrictions were lifted from the first lockdown. At that time, operators spent thousands making their venues covid safe with Perspex screening, hand sanitisation stations throughout, regular cleaning, social distancing, closure of certain areas and reduced capacity numbers. But as the country moved into restriction ‘tiers’ it was only a few weeks later when many were forced to close again.
A month-long national lockdown took place in November, with a full lockdown once again in January this year. The majority of venues have remained closed since November.
Re-opening of venues
The re-opening of venues couldn’t come soon enough for operators, many of whom had had to permanently close. Betting shops were given the green light to resume trading back on 12th April and from next week, bingo and casino players will be able to enjoy their favourite venues again.
However, until all restrictions are lifted, there will still be social distancing, face masks, capacity limits and hand sanitisation throughout. Boris Johnson has been keen to stress the importance of still remaining vigilant, but we’re sure everyone is pleased that normality is beginning to resume once again.
