Last Saturday, November 31, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson announced that the 5,681 betting houses in England will close from 5 November. Last Saturday, November 31, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson announced that the 5,681 bookmakers in England will close from 5 November.
The new block for non-essential businesses will last until December 2. Casinos are also among the affected businesses.
Betting & Gaming Council Chief Executive Michael Dugher commented that the decision “was not even remotely based on science”.
The Department of Health and Social Welfare, in turn, stated that bookmakers’ customers are more likely to remain in a closed space for an extended period of time, thus increasing their chances of contracting COVID-19.
Betting houses suspend activity, but turf remains allowed
According to the Racing Post, the cost of a new UK gambling outage over the course of a month could reach eight digits.
However, horse racing and other elite sports may continue to operate behind closed doors, unlike what happened in the first blockade.
According to a statement from the British Horseracing Authority: “The horse racing industry has been working hard to maintain the safety of our participants and the communities in which we live and work. We did everything possible to do our part and will continue to do so with the new restrictions in place ”.
In addition, the statement says that permission to keep working is “welcome news for the tens of thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on our industry”.
Effects of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom
The new restriction measures were taken after an increase in the daily cases of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. To date, the country has recorded more than 1 million cases with 46,000 deaths.
According to the government, the new wave of contamination could be twice as bad as the first.