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BGC Warns Permanent Industry Damage Following Delay in Casino Reopening

Published

6 years ago

August 4, 2020

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has warned that the UK Government’s last-minute reversal of plans to allow casinos to reopen on August 1 has dealt a wrecking ball to the industry, from which it may never recover.

The casino sector employs more than 14,000 people across the UK in 125 casinos and a further 4000 in the supply chain. Casinos also paid over £300 million each year in tax before the lockdown.

With casinos across England forced to remain shuttered, the BGC warns that up to 6000 jobs may be permanently lost.

In a letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP on July 31, BGC described the decision to keep casinos closed as “highly illogical, inconsistent and deeply damaging to those businesses and the thousands of staff they employ.”

BGC has also rejected the Prime Minister’s categorisation of casinos as “higher risk” during his Downing Street briefing. Casinos have spent weeks and invested millions of pounds to ensure their premises are covid-secure, with measures such as perspex screens, sanitisation equipment and sophisticated track and trace systems, as well as introducing strict social distancing measures and hygiene protocols.

BGC Chief Executive Michael Dugher said: “The Government are swinging a wrecking ball right through the middle of our industry and large scale job losses, which ought to be unnecessary and avoidable, now look inevitable unless ministers act fast.”

“Casinos are a small but fundamental part of our leisure, hospitality, entertainment and tourism industry. They employ over 14,000 people across the UK and indirectly support another 4,000 jobs in the supply sector, and last year casinos paid over £5.7 million in tax per week.

“The ongoing cost of remaining in a holding pattern to reopen is clearly not sustainable, with more jobs and livelihoods being put at risk with every last minute change and delay to reopening.

“The Job Retention Scheme has helped but our members will now be forced to pay National Insurance and pension contributions on top of salaries in August while they remain closed. As furlough payments are phased out, there will be no flexibility for casinos to adapt to the new working and leisure environment and I now fear that many thousands of jobs could be lost.

“We made the all necessary preparations for safe reopening and we were given the green light by Public Health England on the basis of the significant investment made by operators, and having been told by the Government themselves that casinos posed a ‘negligible’ risk compared with the tens of thousands of other places that they have been reopened.”

GGPoker

GGPoker adds Action Voice packs featuring Doyle Brunson and other pros

Published

1 hour ago

July 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

ggpoker-adds-action-voice-packs-featuring-doyle-brunson-and-other-pros

New software option replaces standard table announcements across cash games, tournaments and formats including All-In or Fold and Spin & Gold.

GGPoker on July 9, 2026 announced Action Voice, a new software feature that lets players replace standard table announcements with voice packs recorded by poker personalities, including Doyle Brunson.

The initial lineup named by the operator includes ten-time WSOP bracelet winner Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and Kevin Martin, with additional voices “to be confirmed in the near future.”

Action Voice is available now across GGPoker’s product offering, including cash games, tournaments and formats such as All-In or Fold and Spin & Gold. Players can select voice packs in the desktop client via ‘My Page’ and then ‘My Action Voice’.

“Doyle Brunson may not be at the tables in the way that he used to, but his voice still can be,” said Sarne Lightman, Managing Director of GGPoker. “Action Voice is our way of keeping the legends who built this game part of the everyday experience – right alongside the players carrying it forward today, like Daniel and Michael. It’s a unique and fun new element to our software, and we can’t wait to reveal the rest of the lineup soon.”

GGPoker said more Action Voice packs will be announced in the coming weeks as it rolls out the full roster.

The post GGPoker adds Action Voice packs featuring Doyle Brunson and other pros appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Action Voice

The Godfather Of Poker Returns To The Table: Doyle Brunson’s Voice Comes To GGPoker

Published

1 hour ago

July 9, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

the-godfather-of-poker-returns-to-the-table:-doyle-brunson’s-voice-comes-to-ggpoker

GGPoker introduces Action Voice, letting players hear poker icons – including Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi and more – call their action at the tables

GGPoker, the World’s Biggest Poker Room, today unveiled Action Voice, a unique feature that gives players the option to replace GGPoker’s standard table announcements with those voiced by some of poker’s most iconic figures. For the first time, players can bet, raise, call, and fold to the voice of ten-time WSOP bracelet winner and back-to-back Main Event champion Doyle Brunson – alongside a growing roster of legends including Daniel Negreanu, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Kevin Martin, and additional names to be confirmed in the near future.

Action Voice is now available to all GGPoker players, who can select their preferred voice pack in the GGPoker software and hear it call their action while playing their favorite GGPoker games, including cash games, tournaments, and exclusive formats such as All-In or Fold and Spin & Gold.

“Doyle Brunson may not be at the tables in the way that he used to, but his voice still can be,” said Sarne Lightman, Managing Director of GGPoker. “Action Voice is our way of keeping the legends who built this game part of the everyday experience – right alongside the players carrying it forward today, like Daniel and Michael. It’s a unique and fun new element to our software, and we can’t wait to reveal the rest of the lineup soon.”

To select a new voice from within the desktop software, click on ‘My Page’, then ‘My Action Voice’. Choose your preferred voice by selecting the avatar, click ‘Apply’ and you are ready to hit the tables!

Additional voices will be revealed in the coming weeks as GGPoker rolls out the full Action Voice roster.

The post The Godfather Of Poker Returns To The Table: Doyle Brunson’s Voice Comes To GGPoker appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

Haaland

International bettors back Haaland’s Norway to beat England in World Cup Quarter Final Clash

Published

8 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

international-bettors-back-haaland’s-norway-to-beat-england-in-world-cup-quarter-final-clash

Kaizen Gaming shares Betano users’ predictions on teams heading to the World Cup semi-finals

As the World Cup moves into the last eight stage, Kaizen Gaming unveils exclusive proprietary data from its Betano platform, which reveals Argentina, Norway, Spain and France as the most backed teams by users globally to progress into the semi-finals.

Predicting the teams to qualify to the semi-finals (selections from the “To Qualify” market):

Norway backed by 75% of users to qualify over England
Argentina favoured by 80% of users to win over Switzerland
Spain narrowly predicted to come out on top over Belgium with 55% of users’ bets
France has been selected by 67% of users to pass through Morocco

With regards to two of the biggest surprises of the tournament this far, Brazil’s defeat to Norway and Germany’s elimination by Paraguay, it seems that for Betano users the shock wasn’t that big. In fact, 42% of users had seen Paraguay’s qualification coming, and 45% had predicted Norway getting through Brazil to reach the quarterfinals.

*The data shared has been extracted on the morning of July 8, 2026 from across 18 markets, excluding the UK. The international data sources may vary according to betting option availability per market.

The post International bettors back Haaland’s Norway to beat England in World Cup Quarter Final Clash appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.